Shop Small, Shop Sausalito

Shop Local Sausalito!

Instead of shopping the "Big Box Stores" this weekend to being your holiday gift-giving. Shop your favorite stores in Sausalito and check out a new store that you might not have discovered yet. 

If you purchase from a LOCAL SAUSALITO business between November 25th – Small Business Saturday and December 31st, bring your receipt into the Sausalito Visitor Center, 22 El Portal, and enter our drawing for a $100 Gift Certificate to be used on items featured by local vendors and artists. You can enter as many times as you purchase locally and support a local Sausalito business. 

There is a reason we say: Think Local, Buy Local, Stay Local. For every $100 spent locally, $68 goes back to the community. Our local businesses – the hotels, restaurants and retail shops as well as the service industries and B2B businesses in town (accountants, attorneys, ad agencies, etc.) generate more than 50% of the City’s operational budget. In other words, without a strong, sustainable economy, our City would struggle – the programs and services the city provides would be at risk, whether it’s parks, public safety, the library, or operational infrastructure such as street repair and waterfront maintenance.

In other words, why leave town? Downtown parking is not a big issue–every resident gets three FREE hours of parking in the downtown lots and there is ample street parking in other business neighborhoods. We pride ourselves on being a “no-chain-store, no-big-box-store” town ... but the charming boutiques and small businesses need our support to survive.

Also don’t forget or underestimate the value of our out of town visitors–the hospitality and tourism industries are critical to the health of our local economy. Be nice to our visitors; they are ambassadors for us throughout the world and they fuel our local economy with an estimated $82 million a year.

In addition to supporting our retail merchants, service providers, and the hospitality sectors in town, the Chamber works closely with civic leaders to ensure a diversified mix of other businesses in Sausalito that are low-impact and environmentally conscientious, always striving to preserve our small-town, marine-oriented character. Empty storefronts, poorly-utilized space and blighted areas do nothing for our economy or the complexion of our town. Every business has what is called a “multiplier effect”. If a new graphic design agency generates $1M in revenue, it is calculated that this growth will generate 14 new jobs, $510k in business revenue at other local businesses and $240k in business-related tax revenues. The “visitors” who work here on a daily basis are also an important part of our economy–they, too, stay, shop and dine locally. Clearly it behooves us to be a “business-friendly” community.

To learn more about what your Chamber does to support economic development, access a copy of the “Economic & Community Development Report” prepared by the Marin Economic Forum report from the City or Chamber websites. You may also access the “Business Start-Up Guide” on either website, as well as information and meeting minutes from the City’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on which Chamber, business and community representatives serve. The BAC is tasked with ensuring a sustainable economic future in Sausalito; meetings are usually held the third Thursday of every month and are open to the public.