2 minute read
INTRODUCTION
COMING BACK STRONGER THAN EVER
Imagine dear reader, a world that seems a lifetime away. Movie theaters were showing the latest releases seven days a week. You could walk the Promenade shoulder to shoulder with other shoppers, duck into any store you wanted, regardless of occupancy, and browse to your heart’s content. You could even touch stu without guilt or fear.
Restaurants served food inside and you could get a cocktail or a beer just because you felt like it. Happy Hour was a marketing tool and not an accurate description of amount of joy in our days.
That now nostalgic time was February and it’s also the month that we asked Santa Monicans to name their favorite local businesses. The world has changed in what were previously unimaginable ways since then but in this moment, the annual Most Loved contest and its celebration of community has a newfound importance.
It’s a tough time to be a business owner but most businesses have adapted, not closed. Many are charting a course through these stormy waters and every open sign, al fresco dinner, curb-side pickup and tented haircut is an act of faith by mom-and-pop entrepreneurs in themselves and in the community they serve. They believe they can come through this if we support them and we are proud to be able to highlight some of the people and places that make a city thrive.
Most Loved isn’t just about the businesses because a business doesn’t support the high school, donate to the foodbank or just keep our friends employed. People do. Whether it’s the people who own a storefront or the people who take your order or the people who delivery the goods, it’s the people who deserve the recognition herein. Most Loved is truly a celebration of the people who make Santa Monica a place worth living in and whenever you’re comfortable heading back into the world, we hope you consider visiting some of these people, if only to say hi, exchange a smile and remember the path forward is together.
A sad farewell to some of our Most Loved SM finalists of 2020 who did not survive. We will no doubt see more business closures this year to due the severe economic recession and lasting impacts of COVID making it incredibly challenging for businesses to survive. Now more so than ever, we must make an e ort to buy local in support of our Santa Monica businesses. Grab your mask, your wallet and show your love and support local whenever and wherever possible.
