Local Business Defender Gifts

"The town's last local store has closed thanks to online shopping. It's for sale on ebay."

Local food for local consumption

"Are you mad with us, Mrs. Bimmelman?"

Big business is not evil

The marketing is out there now. People all know the pizzas are prepared on the premises. So why no customers?

Let's all go to a farmer's market.

"Ooh look, the high street's evolved to survive!"

Tips for a green Christmas by Indian Wild Animals.

Mom & Pop Grocerette

'I've put the business up for sale.'

'Spending and consuming - that's my kind of patriotism.'

'I remember when it was a row of quaint little coffee bars and boutiques.'

"Local shopping, local eating, and...I married the girl next door."

Balloons vs. Rockets

MADE IN CANADA "Buy Canadian"..."Eh!"

'If we let this happen, soon we'll be swamped in chain stores.'

"We find shopping at the farmers' market to be more self-congratulatory."

One cappuccino please, and I wanted to give you this. A note. How formal. Dear small local independent coffee house ... I went to Starbucks this morning. I'm sorry. Can you ever forgive me? What if I agree to purge what I ate? The written apology is sufficient.

Frank's Butcher Shop. Ernie's Bakery. Starbux Coffee. It hasn't been the same since the candlestick maker went out of business.

Support your local bookstore

"Come on. I always browse the Mom and Pop stores before buying online."

'Were the lemons grown locally?'

The Trials and Tribulations of Superheroes.

High Street

"He was a mainstay of the economy. Now two brewries and a whiskey distillery are on short time and one tobacco wholesaler has gone completely bankrupt."

Great Streets

I Promise to Buy American Beer.

"An impressive resume, General, but remember - department-store security is different from national security."

"Our 'Buy Locally' ad campaign boosted sales. And we saved money by outsourcing to an overseas ad agency."

"Buy local? Isn't it enough I buy stuff assembled in this country from foreign parts?"

Lemonade 50 Cents made in America by Americans.

"It's the only way we could find funding for the school's football program."

"Not coming in for a pint and a pie, Geoff?"

"That's EXACTLY what I wanted to know from you."

Downsized: Worldwide Global Grocers, Inc...now Mom & Pop