The Charles Regional River Chamber (CRRC) announced on March 20 that it is launching its Small Shops program, which offers free basic Chamber membership to help independent retailers in Newton, Needham, Watertown, and Wellesley.
“The Small Shop program is designed to remove the financial barriers for local merchants so they can get access to our Chamber member benefits,” said Greg Reibman, president and CEO of the Charles Regional River Chamber.
Benefits of the program include being featured in the Chamber’s online directory, receiving support through local marketing campaigns and advocacy, access to participation in the Chamber’s Retail Collaborative committee, and other business resources. The Small Shops program is available to locally owned businesses – excluding restaurants, liquor stores, and cannabis dispensaries – that have one location within the CRRC’s four-community area (Newton, Needham, Watertown, and Wellesley).
“We believe that having more businesses working together and cooperating will make for a more vibrant ecosystem for businesses […] But you know, at the end of the day, this is a really hard time for retailers,” said Reibman. Many retailers are facing competition with online sellers and challenges with tariffs, inflation, and threats to immigrant workers, said Reibman.
“When I got the newsletter this morning, I immediately signed up for a membership,” said Rachel Sciaba, owner of Dear Duchess, a boutique on Union Street. She had previously not been able to afford the CRRC membership fee. “Any extra expense is a consideration for small businesses,” she said.
“The fact that [Chamber membership] is being offered is like a nice little bright light in very uncertain times. Anything that can help move the needle, any sort of resources that we can get, I would absolutely take. It’s very helpful,” said Sciaba about the program.
The Small Shops program will offer members a source of community with other local brick-and-mortars. “[As] small business owners, we’re pretty much on our own. Sometimes you can feel a little bit like you’re on an island. […] knowing that there’s a network if you have a question or something of concern, […] maybe they have a little bit more knowledge or experience and they can help you.” said Sciaba. All Small Shops member benefits are outlined in the CRRC website.
“We want to remind people that they should shop locally every day,” said Reibman. Campaigns like Support Local, which highlights independent stores, and expanding the retail directory by enlisting new Chamber members will help consumers find local shops and products and provide more foot traffic to these businesses, said Reibman.
Lauren Berman, founder of All Over Newton, a company that helps network and campaign for small businesses in Newton, said “[Small businesses] are essential to keeping our village centers active and vibrant and creating destinations for shopping and dining. […] They also play this huge part in fueling our local economy. […] They also employ us, and they employ our neighbors, and they employ our kids, and they’re a large part of our tax base, which we rely on to keep Newton financially healthy.”
Linda de Valpine, president and owner of Greentail Table and co-chair of the CRRC retail committee, said of the committee, “It’s basically just been a place to sort of network with one another and talk to each other […] about the day to day life as a retailer, which has been great, and I think that was having the success of this, and then also just wanting to reach more retailers. I think it’s the reason that they decided to do the Small Shops initiative,” she said.
Independent retailers can enroll in, and view requirements for, the Small Shops program by visiting charlesriverchamber.com/small-shops or calling 617-244-5300.
