WEB EXCLUSIVE It’s the season of love—and that applies to both showing love for local businesses and your significant other, which we’ve made easy with this local gift guide for Valentine’s Day. Support these local businesses while surprising your girl, guy or pals with the perfect gift, curated just for them!
Vita Vite Date Night Wine Basket
vitaviteraleigh.com
This cute gift basket from Vita Vite makes for the ultimate couples (or girls!) night in. With a cocktail recipe book, a bottle of fine wine, a cheese board and cutlery set, a wine tumbler and a wine-themed candle, you’re set for the perfect evening of romance. This may sound cheesy, but it makes for a grate night in. A gouda pair, one might say. 😉
Vita Vite also has a great gift shop with everything from comical mugs and witty wine tumblers to sparkling cocktail recipe books and more. You just can’t go wrong.
Dinner from The Butcher’s Market
thebutchersmarkets.com
Get ready for a hot night in the kitchen with beef bourguignon, a classic French dish and the perfect romantic dinner for two, using The Butcher’s Market‘s burgundy wine steak tips and mushrooms. The market’s easy slow-cooker recipe makes sure you’re freed up to spend the rest of your night–ahem–not in the kitchen.
Peppertrain Jewelry
peppertrainjewelry.com
These fun earrings, handcrafted by local jeweler Kaitlin Ryan at Peppertrain Jewelry, are the perfect addition to any outfit. Buy them for your galentines! Buy them for your girlfriend! Buy them for yourself! (Everyone needs a pair.) Check out Peppertrain’s website for more unique handmade jewelry.
Tea from Tin Roof Teas
tinroofteas.com
Get your hottie some hot tea, because what cold, stressful winter day isn’t perfect for winding down with a warm sip? Get it while it’s hot at Tin Roof Teas in Cameron Village—there are tons of unique teas from which to choose, making it easy for you and your boo to cuddle up on the couch together with each of your preferred brews for a relaxing evening.
Coley Home Robe
coleyhome.com
Speaking of unwinding, give the gift of relaxation to your SO this Valentine’s Day with this lightweight Palm Robe from Coley Home in Charlotte. It comes in three different colors and makes for the perfect loungewear.
Bracelets from Zass
www.zassdesign.com
These edgy jewelry cuffs are handmade from recycled materials by a mother-daughter duo right here in Raleigh. Support Zass by snagging a pair or two for you and your gal-friends (they’ll look so cute during Galentine’s brunch). And be sure to check out Zass’ Valentine’s Day collection (for a limited time) here.
Heart-Shaped Wreath from Logan’s Garden Shop
logantrd.com
Flowers are nice and all, but they come and go so fast, and, let’s be honest, they’re a little basic this time of year. This heart-shaped magnolia wreath from Logan’s Garden Shop presents a unique and gorgeous alternative that will last way longer.
Blue Water Spa Gift Card
There’s not a single person (that we can think of) who wouldn’t enjoy a spa day. Enter Blue Water Spa! Gift cards can be redeemed on all medical spa services, including Botox, dermal fillers, laser treatments, CoolSculpting and spa services. Go as a couple—or treat yo’self—and have yourselves a dayyyy.
On the Monday after Thanksgiving, our email inboxes inevitably blow up with Cyber Monday discounts. The holiday, if that’s what you want to call it, was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online, with the idea that it would be a good way to market deals to those looking to get their holiday shopping done early. This year, instead of giving your money away to big corporations, we encourage you to do your Cyber Monday shopping locally, especially since many local businesses have switched to online shopping platforms due to coronavirus—and, they need your help.
Main & Taylor, which has maintained a customized in-person shopping experience for 30 years, is one local business that had to change operations due to the shutdown. Owner Diane Chinnis developed an online store for the shoe boutique to continue reaching customers—before COVID, Main & Taylor didn’t sell via its website at all.
Chinnis says she held out on offering an online store because she believes in one-on-one interaction. “We have lots of great relationships with our customers,” Chinnis says. “My husband and I thrive on that interaction.” When opening an online store was the only option left, she gave in, but the online shopping experience has now given Main & Taylor’s customers the option to buy shoes at any time, from anywhere, which has expanded the store’s customer base.
Jason Jefferies, the general manager of Quail Ridge Books, also chose to focus on online sales when the pandemic hit, offering free shipping nationally and curbside pickup locally. While Quail Ridge sold books through its website before, during the shutdown the store increased online sales by 3,000 percent. Other local businesses, including The Flourish Market, Uniquities, Edge of Urge, The Zen Succulent and many others, have also switched to online sales platforms when customers could no longer visit in person. Even now that most of these shops are back open, they’ve maintained their online stores.
This Cyber Monday, it will be easier than ever to shop locally and conveniently from your phone, tablet or laptop. Local businesses are hurting and shopping with them is the easiest way to help them out. Visit shoplocalraleigh.org for a list of local businesses with online shops.
WEB EXCLUSIVE After 30 years maintaining a personalized in-person shopping experience at Main & Taylor in North Hills, owner Diane Chinnis was forced to change the boutique shoe store’s operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the state shut businesses down at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinnis developed an online store to sell products in order to continue reaching her customers—before COVID, Main & Taylor’s website didn’t have anything on it available to buy.
Chinnis says she held out on offering an online store for a long time because she believes in the one-on-one interaction her store offers when customers come in. “We have lots of great relationships with our customers,” Chinnis says. “My husband and I thrive on that interaction.” When people come into the store to shop, they’re able to ask about different shoe styles, try on a various sizes and get recommendations from employees.
Dolce Vita Booties from Main & Taylor’s online shop
Chinnis has been able to continue that same personal service online, through emails and phone calls with customers. If she sees a customer has ordered a shoe that runs on the larger side, she’ll let them know they might want to size down. She’ll send additional photos of a shoe if a customer requests it, or talks to shoppers on the phone about what she thinks of a shoe. During the pandemic, Chinnis’s husband even made local deliveries to shoppers’ doorsteps. “You’re not going to get that from a Nordstrom or a Zappos,” Chinnis says.
Main & Taylor is just one of many local businesses that have had to change time-honored operations and philosophies. Jason Jefferies of Quail Ridge Books also chose to focus on online sales, offering free shipping nationally and curbside pickup locally. While Quail Ridge sold books on its website before, during the shutdown the store increased its online sales by 3,000 percent. Now, Quail Ridge is open to eight customers at a time, but Jefferies says he’ll continue to offer free shipping nationally for as long as he believes people should stay at home. “Our number one priority is the safety of our staff and our customers,” he adds. Additionally, instead of running author events in the store, a common pre-COVID ritual for Quail Ridge, the store streams virtual semianrs, readings and conservations with featured authors online through Zoom.
With the future still unknown, Chinnis also plans to keep up with Main & Taylor’s online store. She’s already added shoes for the fall season, which can also be purchased through Facebook. But she says she hopes people will realize that just because her store has a web presence now, it doesn’t mean customers can’t call her or reach out by email, or they can come into the store if they’re comfortable doing so. “[Our customers] still want to support us and look at shoes and [the website] gives them a way to do that,” Chinnis says. “It’s just a different layer to help our customers and keep our business open.”
Vermillion owner Ashley Vermillion Webb styles a new dress on Instagram
Other local businesses that have had to pivot their operations include Vermillion, whose owner, Ashley Vermillion Webb, has been posting daily videos featuring new merchandise on Instagram and Facebook, styled on herself, an employee or a mannequin. Brovelli Oil, Vinegar & Gifts in City Market started a mobile cooking class by which a professional chef teaches attendees how to cook different recipes at home using the store’s olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Additionally, Deco Raleigh is offering shopping by appointment in order to allow customers to come in and peruse the store safely.
It’s a weird time for everyone right now, but local businesses have proven that they’re able to pivot their services in unique ways to continue to accommodate customers while keeping everyone–employees and the public–safe.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Every Wednesday at Raleigh City Farm, a colorful display of hyper-local produce awaits customers eager to get their hands on fresh vegetables. Lettuce, radishes, kale, green onions and carrots are just some of the rainbow of vegetables available each week at the Farmstand, all of which are grown sustainably and without any chemicals on an acre of land in the Person Street Neighborhood.
Raleigh City Farm’s Farmstand is part of its mission to connect the community to sustainable agriculture and ensure that consumers are getting their food from a reliable, local source. Purchasing vegetables from the Farmstand at Raleigh City Farm also supports the nonprofit’s efforts to share produce with other nonprofits who address food access and insecurity, including A Place at the Table and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
Flower bouquets, tote bags, hats, masks from Edge of Urge and locally-made birdhouses are also for sale at the Farmstand, along with Raleigh City Farm t-shirts adorned with the farm’s mascot Sir Walter Rabbit, drawn by artist Jenny Eggleston.
Join Raleigh City Farm’s Cultivator Club to further help the group share its produce with other nonprofit organizations by donating anywhere from $10 to $100 a month. You’ll receive one to three additional items free at the Farmstand each week.
The Farmstand at Raleigh City Farm takes place every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at 800 N. Blount Street. Wear a mask, socially distance from others and know that your produce haul is doing good for both yourself and your family, and for others in need.
