Shop local and save gas
Pace resident Yolando Peacher has a decision to make each time she goes shopping or eats out: Does she spend $4 per gallon for the 17-mile round-trip to get to Pensacola, or does she stay closer to home?
More often than not, closer to home wins out.
“Obviously, if you can get the same quality and the same atmosphere closer to home, that’s a win-win situation,” Peacher said. “With gas prices, anything that’s closer to home helps.”
That’s why she recently chose Mainstreet Café in Milton when she had dinner with her 2-year-old son, Tillman, and friend Shea Hargrove of Pensacola.
And it’s what the downtown revitalization group Main Street Milton is counting on.
The group has developed its first “Discover Milton” guide, complete with a map, list of 31 downtown businesses and attractions, and coupons to entice local shoppers to spend their money closer to home.
“I think a lot of people are thinking twice about the gas,” said Kim Macarthy, president of the nonprofit Main Street. “Downtown Milton is close enough for people to try, and then when they find something they like, they come back.”
