Choose Local

CHOOSE LOCAL, CHOOSE NEWMARKET

Throughout the pandemic, the amazing people of Newmarket were busy showing their love for local businesses by shopping local, visiting patios, cheering on their favourite shops and making the decision to #StandApartTogether and #ChooseNewmarket. The Town launched many new programs and created a strong support system for local businesses to help guide them through these unchartered waters. As part of the support program, the Town launched an online shopping directory just in time for the holiday season. In December alone, almost 5,000 shoppers accessed the site to find gifts locally.

The Town also launched various contests asking community members to submit photos of how they #ChooseNewmarket and boy did they deliver! With hundreds of submissions, we were very happy to give away some amazing prizes, including an autographed Connor McDavid jersey (for those of you who don’t know, Connor McDavid was born and raised right here in our hometown of Newmarket), and many $500 local shopping sprees to the winning Choose Local champions.

EXPANDED PATIO PROGRAM A HUGE SUCCESS

In 2020, The Town of Newmarket launched an expanded outdoor patio program, waiving patio licensing fees and offering additional support to local restaurants facing significant challenges as a result of COVID-19.

This innovative approach expanded patios onto Town lands, including sidewalks, streetside parking spots, laneways, parking lots, and urban park space, while ensuring safe environments and compliance with all COVID-19 health and safety measures.

The expanded patio program ran from July to November and was a smashing success. When surveyed, 98 per cent of participants supported an expanded patio program again in 2021 and the average enjoyment rate of the patios (on a scale of 1 – 100) was 91.

The Town has continued to work closely with local restaurants and the successful expanded patio program has been continued for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

INTRODUCING THE BUSINESS ASSISTANCE CONCIERGE

In April 2020, the Town, in partnership with the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce (Chamber), launched the Business Assistance Concierge (BAC). The BAC was created to help small and medium-sized businesses on their journey ‘back to business’ during and after COVID-19.

The BAC team is a combination of Town and Chamber staff trained on municipal, provincial and federal business support programs, helping to provide guidance and support.

In June, the BAC was expanded to include facilitated roundtable sessions hosted by faculty at York University. To date, over 100

local businesses have accessed the BAC to help navigate the COVID-19 landscape.

TICKETS FOR TAKEOUT!

In January 2022, Newmarket launched a Tickets for Takeout incentive program, giving residents the opportunity to have their Newmarket parking ticket cancelled in exchange for takeout from a local restaurant. Residents simply needed to provide a receipt from a Newmarket restaurant equal to or greater than the parking fine for their ticket to be cancelled. As part of the Town’s overall Choose Local campaign, the program was created to continue to drive residents to support local restaurants while they remained closed for indoor dining.