Staff Writer

 As a small business owner, Dan Ducharme is always looking for ways to remind locals to shop downtown.

Ducharme, owner of DAD’s Smoke Shop in Biddeford, has spent the past three years encouraging people to shop local and partnering with other business to promote their stores. He now is part of a larger campaign to encourage people to check out businesses in downtown Biddeford and Saco.

Biddeford Saco Buy Local kicked off last week with the launch of a new website and premiere of television and radio ads. The goal of the collaborative effort is to showcase businesses and encourage a fundamental shift in the local buying habits of residents to boost the local economy. 

The program was created by the Biddeford-Saco Area Economic Development Corp., Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Heart of Biddeford and Saco Spirit.

William Armitage, executive director of the Biddeford-Saco Area Economic Development Corp., said the idea for the program originally came from former Heart of Biddeford Executive Director Rachael Weyand. The more business leaders researched the idea, the more obvious it became that a buy local program was a good fit for Biddeford and Saco, he said.

“My feeling is the buy local campaign is a two-pronged approach. It is a promotional program to promote and market local businesses,” he said. “The other prong is that it is an educational program for residents.”

For Ducharme, the educational component of the campaign is one of the most important aspects. He said people need to change their thinking and start supporting local businesses instead of heading to national chain stores.

“People don’t know about Biddeford and Saco. It is a diamond in the rough,” Ducharme said. “All we have to do is polish it up a bit and we’re looking good.”

Other business owners said they also hope people will take the time to rediscover local businesses in the downtown district.

“We’re hoping it will educate people to shop local first,” said Priscille Belanger, owner of La Corseterie on Main Street in Biddeford.

Belanger, who has run the store for the past 15 years, said she often talks to customers who say they didn’t think to go to a Main Street store first.

“A lot of people automatically think the mall,” she said. “”You hear it all the time – ‘I should have come here first.’”

Rod Belanger, president of Rod’s Electric in Biddeford, said he has long believed in supporting local businesses. Joining the program was a “no-brainer,” he said.

“We need to support each other to survive in the economy the way it is today,” he said. “Obviously we want to grow, we want to be stronger and we want all the companies around us to do the same.”

Ellen Converse, who runs Oh Baby Café and Catering in Biddeford with her mother, said she has seen the success of the buy local campaign in Portland. Joining the local campaign is a good way to gain more exposure for the business and promote the idea of keeping money in the community, she said.

“If people knew more about the businesses down here, they’d probably come more often,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize there are a lot of cool places down here.”

Tim Lambert, whose wife, Amy, owns Sooper Dogs in Saco, said they support other local businesses by stocking local and American-made products in their store. Customers often find better value for their dollar and more expertise at local businesses, he said.

“I hope (this campaign) really takes off and people realize what treasures local businesses are,” he said. “I want to preserve the individuality of our town and I hope others across the country do the same.”

Mark Johnston of Vic and Whit’s in Saco said “it’s amazing we have to even create a campaign to tell people to buy downtown.” He said he hopes more local residents will see the value in shopping at independently owned stores on Main Street.

Armitage said shopping locally provides three times the financial benefit to the community. For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 stays in the local economy to create jobs and expand the city’s tax base. For every $100 spent at a national chain or franchise store, $14 remains in the community, he said.

Armitage said the intent of the campaign is not to get people to spend more money, but to change where they spend it. With 17,000 households in Biddeford and Saco, nearly $1 million could be generated if people spend $1 a week at a local business, he said.

“It can be as small as thinking about where you buy a cup of coffee in the morning,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to stimulate a lot of activity in the local economy and really support the local businesses.”

More than 60 businesses have joined the campaign, which is free this year. There will be a cost of about $50 to continue next year, Armitage said.

The buy local website will allow each business to publish information and coupons and television and radio ads promote the area.  

Armitage said he encourages people to take the “buy local pledge” by going to www.biddefordsacobuylocal.org.