Market Update: The Impact Of Supporting Local Businesses In Minnesota – Full Analysis

We are three months into 2026, and one Minnesota small business has issued what sounds like a dire warning about our local economy. The social media post paints a picture that isn’t sunshine and rainbows for local businesses; it does speak the truth as to what Minnesota small businesses are dealing with.

“Billion Dollar Entities Can’t Stay Above Water Without Help”

Heights Pizza Man, a small business located in Columbia Heights, has been a go-to spot for my family over the years. It’s also been one of the businesses that isn’t afraid to speak out when something is going on, especially when it comes to supporting other small businesses, as well as the community it is located in.

On March 3rd, the business wrote a very telling post about how things are looking right now in terms of small businesses in Minnesota.

Papa John’s, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s have all begun closing stores nationwide. If billion dollar entities can’t stay above water without help, the small local guy is drowning. We know things can be tight. We know some are just getting back to work. Some are working harder to cook at home. We understand all these things. We’re not asking anyone to spend money they don’t have, we’re asking that when you do you support the places owned by your friends and neighbors, not corporations because otherwise you’re going to start seeing local places drop at alarming rates.

Support The Places Owned By Friends & Neighbors

The chilling part about Heights Pizza Man’s post for me was how it started. The fact that 14 of the 15 other businesses that were spoken to recently have gone backwards since the start of the year.

Shopping local is the heartbeat for our local economies. A paper by Civic Economics back in 2002 highlighted that shopping locally matters so much. Basically, what the paper stated was that compared to national chains, local businesses roll more money back into the local economy.

Some of the most recent figures state that when you spend $100 locally, roughly $68 comes back, compared to $43 when you buy elsewhere.

That’s real money staying here, helping to keep other businesses open.

The next time you are heading out to make a purchase, try one of our local businesses first. You’d be surprised by what you find while helping to keep our local businesses’ doors open.

(If you are a small business looking for advertising solutions and making your brand/business known in our community, please reach out. We’d love to help you.)