Celebrate Local This Small Business Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2020
OTTAWA, ON: The Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA) is celebrating Local this Small
Business Week (October 18-24). 2020 brings unique and unprecedented challenges to the over 6400
businesses located in the 19 Ottawa Business Improvement Areas (BIA).
“Small businesses are the lifeblood or our communities,” says Mark Kaluski, Chair of the organization. “They
add to our overall quality of life, they are the social fabric holding these communities together. We need to
come together, now more than ever, to support our local retail shops, restaurants and service providers.”
Always adapting, our amazing business owners are finding ways to survive, and many to thrive, despite
shutdowns, rapidly changing protocols and uncertainty in the face of Covid-19. Restaurants are pivoting to
outdoor dining and take away services. Businesses are also offering pre-orders, online shopping and curbside
pick-up in addition to safe, socially distanced shopping.
It is now up to consumers to back their local businesses and ensure their continued survival. Without
customers and income, our small businesses will cease to exist.
“We urge our communities to #BuyLocal or risk losing their favorite local businesses” says OCOBIA Executive
Director Rebecca Palmer. “Our main street and small businesses are open, practicing enhanced safety
protocols and offer a wide variety of products and services. Take a stroll in your neighbourhood business
improvement area (BIA), order take-out, visit a patio, purchase a gift card, or safely shop indoors and help
save our local businesses .“
Join the conversation online using #BuyLocalOrByeLocal or #AchatLocalOuEchecLocal and #ShopOttawa or
#MagasinerOttawa to show your support. A full list of Ottawa BIAs can be found on the OCOBIA website .