Chapel Hill, NC (August 16, 2019): Local Chapel Hill and Carrboro business owners are teaming-up with the Carrboro Business Alliance, The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership to welcome UNC students back to town and encourage them to shop and dine locally.
 
“We are excited to welcome UNC students and encourage them to enjoy local shopping and dining in our shared downtowns,” said Bridget Pemberton-Smith, Chair of the Carrboro Business Alliance. “Over the next week, everyone can enjoy deals and discounts at local restaurants and retailers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, from Caffé Driade and Carolina Coffee Shop to Carrburritos and Carr Mill Mall!”
 

[Scroll down or click here to access the full list of deals and discounts]

Local residents, including students, can make a real difference in maintaining our community's quality of life by paying attention to where they shop and dine. According to the recent Small Business Economic Impact Study:

• Approximately 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business remains in the local community.
• Every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.
• For every ten jobs at a small business, another seven are supported in the local community.

 “The dollars you spend at a local business are reinvested in our community's employees through wages and in other organizations through the purchase of legal, accounting and other business services,” said Aaron Nelson, President and CEO of The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro. “Remember, when you spend it here, you keep it here.”
 
This back-to-school local deals and discounts campaign is the first of seven campaigns planned for 2019 in coordination with the local business community and the Carrboro Business Alliance, The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. 

• UNC Back to School Week (Sat 8/17- Sun 8/25) 
• Carrboro Music Festival (Sat 9/28 - Sun 9/29) 
• Chapel Hill Festifall Arts Festival (Sat 10/12) 
• Carrboro West End Poetry Festival (Wed 10/16 - Sat 10/19)
• Carrboro Film Festival (Sat 11/15 - Sun 11/17)
• Small Business Saturday (Sat 11/30)
• Annual Carrboro Tree Lighting (Friday) and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade (Saturday) (December TBD)

Those business owners who wish to promote a deal or discount in a future campaign, please post here.

Contact: For questions about this campaign, future deals and discounts, or #WeBuyLocal, contact Katie Loovis, Vice President for External Affairs, The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, KLoovis@carolinachamber.org, (919) 696-0781 (cell)