Keeping Chatham Thriving

Resident Feature by Stacey McEvoy | Photos by Christine Loy Photography Promoting Love and Support with "Keep Chatham Thriving"

When the COVID-19 pandemic ground the Chatham business community to a halt in March, MJ Morgan started putting together a Chatham restaurant list and Michelle Lease started putting together a Chatham merchant list—unbeknownst to each other—to lend their expertise and help the local businesses navigate the unprecedented whirlwind of uncertainty that would lie ahead.

Michelle, owner of the online business The Nantucket Collection, was immediately concerned about the viability of the Chathams’ shops since they heavily rely on the foot traffic of the community—not the internet— to move their product. She started gathering information, taking photos and producing videos about the businesses and launched KeepChathamThriving.com. Meanwhile, MJ, owner of Embel Consulting, a social media marketing company, was gathering restaurant information and devising social media strategies to get the word out that many food establishments were still preparing, cooking and baking for curbside pickup.

MJ Morgan and Michelle Lease of Keep Chatham Thriving

When the two discovered they were working independently toward the same goal, they got together and channeled their resources, energies and love of Chatham. “We work really well together,” says MJ. “We have a yin and yang,” agrees Michelle, not missing a beat. (Fun fact they discovered after meeting: Their best friends are sisters).

“MJ and I both have the same spirit. Even before the pandemic hit, we would both post on various local online forums about different businesses if we thought they might need a little love,” says Michelle.

As the Keep Chatham Thriving website aptly states: “The businesses in town have always been there for our community. They have supported our schools, sports teams and charities, employed our family members, and kept our downtown vibrant with enjoyable dining and shopping experiences. Now it’s our turn to be there for them.”

The pair has donated their time and worked diligently in an attempt to help keep the businesses and restaurants of Chatham thriving by alerting the community of the need and promoting the establishments online. They worked the phones, sent emails and pounded the pavement to connect with business owners. They gave crash courses about website posting and promotion, shared marketing strategies and explained the value of social media platforms and how to use them.

“Many merchants have had to pivot and come online quickly and change how they do business,” says Michelle, pointing out that it made sense to tap into the online shopping community since most people were home and online more than ever.

“Keep Chatham Thriving, is a great resource to stay in-the-know about the small business community in Chatham and it serves as a constant reminder to support local which is more important now than ever,” says MJ, noting that the information is cross posted on the website, Facebook and Instagram. Keep Chatham Thriving has over 1,200 Facebook followers and almost 700 Instagram followers.

Local government has appreciated their work too. Since April, MJ and Michelle have participated in the Chatham Borough mayor’s twice weekly conference call to assist the small business community as members of the Economic Development Advisory Committee.

“This grassroots marketing and promotional effort was borne of the COVID-19 crisis, but it uncovers a real need in our community,” says MJ, acknowledging that it will probably take some time for many of the businesses to get back on solid ground. Both women agree that they will provide business owners the additional promotional support until they are in a better position. They also hope that this may jumpstart a volunteer committee of professionals with different areas of expertise that could work with the business community on a permanent basis. “It would be a lot to put all of it together,” says Michelle. “But we think some of the businesses are seeing the need.”

We continue to have an open dialogue with owners to identify the best ways to support them and come up with new and fresh ideas to grow,” says Michelle. “It’s been interesting to see how things keep evolving and the marketing changes from month to month.

The Shop from Home Series which included Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation and Shop Saturday offerings was a successful vehicle for many businesses, with owners broadcasting live from their shops and directly reaching Keep Chatham Thriving followers. Some of the videos received several thousand views, according to Michelle.

At the beginning of the pandemic, working on Keep Chatham Thriving kept us super busy, just trying to make contact with businesses and get the word out that most restaurants and shops were open, but operating at a very different capacity,” says MJ. “The work comes in spurts now depending upon restrictions that are lifted or any new changes that are introduced which requires services to change. With about 40 restaurants in the Chathams, MJ proactively reached out to them to include as much as possible about each establishment. “Now that we have outdoor dining (Phase 2 of the re-opening), we’ve been putting up restaurants’ photos that show the outdoor settings and safety measures taken,” she says, adding “We’ve been told they’re receiving great positive feedback.

Michele and MJ are currently in the process of designing “Shop Chatham” signs for the community to display on their lawns to support the Chatham small business community.

“The signs will serve as a constant reminder for people to remember to shop and eat local,” says Michelle .“We want people to say to themselves, ‘Is there a place in Chatham where I can purchase what I’m looking for?’” says Michelle. “Every purchase makes such a difference,” she says, noting that many small businesses are run by families.

MJ suggests following Chatham businesses on social media and publishing reviews on Yelp or Facebook business pages and websites. “These are great ways to help keep Chatham businesses thriving. Positive feedback online really helps them so much,” she says. “Also tip generously at restaurants and buy gift cards to establishments that can be used at a future date. All of these little things add up.”

“We all have to keep helping,” says Michelle.

“It has been wonderful to see our community come together to support our local businesses, and we all must continue to do so,” adds MJ.

Do you know a neighbor who has a story to share? Nominate your neighbor to be featured in one of our upcoming issues! Contact us at smcevoy@bestversionmedia.com.

We would like to thank Salerno Duane Inc. in Summit for bringing you this month’s cover story.