The CitySquares Blog

Check out the Davis Square neighborhood video! We’re going to have this on the site pretty shortly. And we’ll be doing other neighborhood videos soon. Want your neighborhood to be included? Send us an email!

With July now in full swing, it’s time for our final update on the Buy Local Challenge. For those of you who haven’t been following it, we here at CitySquares gave ourselves a challenge to buy only from local businesses for the month of June. Below are words from my fellow CitySquares staff members.

“Even though I was apprehensive about only buying local, I actually really stuck to it aside from this past week in California…I mean lets be serious I had to try Inn and Out Burger’s secret menu and dine amongst the stars at Mr. Chows. That aside, when in Boston I got the majority of my groceries from a local store called Symphony Market and on the way back from the beach in Rhode Island on the weekends I would stop at the farm stands and buy my fruits and veggies for the week. I stopped going to Starbucks all together and now go to Espresso Royale. Even though I really enjoyed the local markets, now that the challenge is over I will probably start going back to the larger super markets, simply because they are more affordable and convenient.”  - Caitlin

“Buying local was easy in the dining out and bar scene since I live in a city. The biggest upset is that I wanted to buy flowers locally and didn’t know where a local florist was. Since I was out of town, and driving, I used GPS to find one but it was 15 miles away. I ended up going to a Shaws and spending a fortune on a floral arrangement that I probably could have gotten cheaper from a local florist.“  - Alexandra

“I am buying entirely local more successfully. I’m eating at local establishments, buying at only local businesses including Tags Hardware and Porter Square Books, I’m even buying local beers. I’m starting to really enjoy it and the more I practice this kind of Buy Local behavior the more I find myself objecting to non-local purchasing/commerce. It’s starting to just become routine. I’m not finding myself purposefully working at it as much now, it’s just sort of happening on its own.”  - Ben

“Coffee is my thing. I need to have GOOD coffee in the morning, afternoon and some evenings. I felt this was the best way to test the local waters.  Buying local meant that Starbucks was out of the picture. Enter Greenlight. The Pete’s Iced Coffee is self-poured and the cups are prefilled with ice. No frills, just coffee.  In just about any other setting this would come off as kind of a pain. However, once you take your simple coffee to the register you are greeted by  a smiling and friendly, non-uniform wearing fella who knew my name after my first visit. My morning coffee became more like what a morning coffee used to be, a daily social activity, not just a caffeine binge. The coffee was half the price as Starbucks and frankly just as strong as my Venti Iced Black Eye (One big coffee with two shots of espresso).  I won’t lie, it will be hard to completely nix the Starbucks, but Greenlight has a new loyal customer.”    - Steve

Overall, this Buy Local challenge was a success. Buying locally is something that’s really baked into CitySquares’ DNA. Because we work with locally owned businesses all day long, every day, it’s a constant reminder. And what’s fun about working at CitySquares too, is that it really puts a spotlight on the communities we work with, and the local businesses within them. Even so, we need a reminder sometimes. Buying things like toothpaste, flowers, greeting cards, groceries, things like that are all matters of convenience. We’re consumers, and we tend to not think about our consumer behaviors. But when we do, when we intentionally monitor those behaviors and try to be a bit more socially responsible with them, we find ourselves enjoying our consumer lifestyles a bit more. As Steve pointed out above, he found his morning cups of coffee to be more social and friendly, and as Ben realized, the more he altered and practiced his consumer behaviors the easier it became.

When we first discussed doing this challenge there was a lot of debate about where to buy certain products. Some of us didn’t realize how much opportunity there really was to buy locally. Ultimately, we all learned some lessons here and we’re better consumers because of it.

– Julie

Check out the video of the CommuniTee Party held earlier this month at Gallery XIV, in the South End!

Once again, thanks to everyone who made this possible and be on the lookout for the shirts on sale at local businesses starting in just a few days!

A couple of months ago we had an idea to put a bit of an animation together that demonstrates how we feel about traditional print media, specifically the phone book and local newspapers. We didn’t want it to be too serious or lengthy, so Jason, Amber, and myself put a storyboard together and found someone who could help us get it done. We’re really happy with the final result, and we hope you are too. It’s only a minute and a half long. Check it out!

You can find the original Flash version of the movie here on CitySquares.com. We also threw it up on YouTube and the CitySquares Facebook page.

What do you think?

– Ben

Buying local is what CitySquares is all about. We talk about buying local with our customers and with community members daily. Earlier this month, we gave ourselves a challenge, to buy only from local businesses for the month of June. While there have been some mishaps  (it’s called a challenge for a reason) I’m happy to report that everyone on staff (all 14 of us) is still trying to practice what we preach.

The easiest part of this challenge has been the restaurants. From Pescatore and Redbones BBQ in Somerville, Union Oyster House in Faneuil Hall, even all the way to Barnacle Billy’s in Maine, we’ve had an unlimited supply of local spots to dine. Downtown Wine and Spirits and local bars like The Draft (which just opened their new outdoor patio, by the way) and The Fours next to the Garden (Go Celts!) were obvious choices for entertainment. Groceries have been relatively easy as well with markets like Foodies in the South End. Farmer’s Markets like the Union Square Farmer’s Market have also been a big help during our buy local challenge.

Aside from a few blunders; a flat screen from Best Buy, a window air conditioner from Home Depot and some last minute Father’s Day cards at CVS we’ve made some major improvements. We’ve kicked our Dunkin Donuts habit and in exchange we’ve been frequenting places like the Buttery. We’ve replaced our Exxon Stations for neighborhood gas stations like Teele Square Auto. One of us even went so far as to drive to Hampstead New Hampshire to buy a power tool from East Coast Lumber! It hasn’t been an easy few weeks, but it’s definitely been a learning experience. We’ve got two more weeks to go and many more lessons to learn. Be sure to check back for more updates this month.

How about you? Do you feel like you try to shop locally when you have the choice? If so, why and if not, why? There’s no right or wrong answer either, so please, be candid!

– Julie

Following the exciting South End CommuniTee Party and the T-shirt unveiling last Thursday, the stylish T-shirts are now available for purchase on the CitySquares website!

These hip t-shirts, designed by students from the Joseph J Hurley and the McKinley public schools in Boston’s South End, are available in two styles and various sizes.  They can be yours for the low price of $20 + shipping and handling. Your $20 goes to the CommuniTee Art Project. In September we intend to cut a large check to the South End’s McKinley and Joseph J. Hurley School art programs so they can buy supplies and materials for their students! Please, buy a T-shirt, represent the South End, and spread the word!

– Caitlin

As pointed on on several blogs and in the print media, CitySquares has expanded our website beyond the Metro Boston area and into the rest of New England as well as the Metro NYC area! This is a big and exciting step for us! This expansion of the website brings the total number of businesses from about 64,000 to 1.4 million! Thats a 22x increase!

With this expansion we’ve had to build a new home page at the root of CitySquares.com. Historically, when you go to CitySquares.com you’d be brought directly to the Boston page on the site, or to your favorite neighborhood, if you’ve saved one. Now, the new home page will bring users to the very top of the site, and allow the drill down by state, region, city, and neighborhood. The home page is very dynamic too, with a clever Top Cities and Quick Look feature.

The real objective behind this expansion is to meet the demand we’re seeing in communities outside of metro Boston to bring our Buy Local message, local search solution there. Both businesses and consumers have made themselves heard loud and clear, and this is just a first step in meeting their needs.

With this expansion we’re following our original model of taking a bottoms-up approach to building an online community based on neighborhood and community locales. With so much data, it’s a challenge, but that’s why the product team (Bob, Justin, and Michael) has literally slept in the office to accomplish this, and they did a fantastic job! We’re very proud of those guys for their efforts and for going above and beyond to get this done.

We’re excited to see the search engines sink their teeth into this data and ultimately bring the value of CitySquares.com to consumers across the northeast! If anyone has any questions about this expansion, or about advertising, or anything else, please don’t hesitate to email me or call me at (617) 459-4922. There are some small wrinkles we need to iron out too, so expect to see some nice little tweaks over the coming days and weeks.

– Ben

At CitySquares we do a lot of talking about buying local. In fact, that’s part of our brand. Everyone on staff here really has a heart for local businesses. We work with them each and every day, hundreds of them. They’re the life-blood of our local economies, and of our neighborhoods. But how many of us here at CitySquares practice what we preach? It doesn’t take long for a new employee to get the big picture and start being more aware of where they spend their consumer dollars, and while we all try hard to keep up with that, it’s easy to forget and go to a big chain for groceries, or for hardware, or home goods. Buying locally really does take practice. Well, this is a topic we’ve been discussing a lot and so we’ve decided it’s time to start practicing what we preach.

So while we all do try to buy local we’ve decided to make it an official company-wide challenge for the month of June. This month, starting last week, everyone on staff here (14 of us) is participating in what we call the “Buy Local Challenge.” (This effort is partly inspired by our friend Joe Grafton, Executive Director for Somerville Local First, and his “Lokavore Experiment.”) Sure some things will be easy, but we understand there will be challenges along the way, like buying gasoline, grocery shopping, and in some cases we may have to pay a premium. We also know we’ll have some slip-ups but what we’re mainly aiming for is the lessons learned along the way. Below are the guidelines we will follow. Be sure to check back for weekly updates.

Rule 1) If we spend money, it must be at a locally owned business.

Rule 2) When given the option, we will favor locally made products.

Rule 3) As usual we will try to give our business to CitySquares customers.

Rule 4) Take notes! Throughout the week we will all be noting our successes and our struggles in trying to buy only locally. We will update the blog weekly on what we’ve learned.

What do you think of this? Have you tried something similar?

We’ve got more videos for ya. Check them out!

Massage Therapy Works in Davis Square Somerville

Boston Pedicab in Boston’s South End

Union Bar and Grille in Boston’s South End

Last night’s CommuniTee Art Project celebration was a huge success! The event got rolling at about 6:00 at Gallery XIV and guests just kept pouring in, each one of them donating at least $20 to the CommuniTee Art Project, with the proceeds going to fund local school art programs in the South End. That $20 got each guest a blue ticket which entitled them to a CommuniTee shirt. Some people donated well over $20, giving cash, cutting checks and handing over their credit cards for $40, $50, $60, even more!

And speaking of tee shirts, how about the winning designs? Well, we’ve got two winners for you, and they were unveiled last night. So here you are!

With 590 votes, we have a winning design from Yanniel, a talented student at the McKinley School! Her design, depicted here to the right, is printed on a black tee shirt. We sold a bunch of them last night and the staff at The Red Fez wore them with pride all evening, and they’ll be wearing them for a full week!

The second winning design, with a whopping 616 votes, from student artist Dashawn with the McKinley school, is shown here to the right! We sold a ton of these last night too.

(Click the pictures to see a larger view.)

All the student art submissions were fantastic. One thing that really struck us all at CitySquares was just how each and every piece of art really captured the essence of the South End, and neighborhood life there. Congratulations to all the students, from both schools, for raking in well over a thousand votes from the community! This was a very competitive contest and every student was a winner.

That’s just the beginning too, because last nights event raised nearly $3000! All that money is going to the McKinley and the Joseph J Hurley school art programs! That’s money for construction paper, for scissors, for paint brushes, and finger paint, and for clay, and crayons, markers. That money also came from the silent auction, which was a big success! We had dozens of local businesses donate all sorts of goods, from wine, to wine tastings, to art work, puzzles, and even a pair of Red Sox tickets! It was a huge success, and it even got a little competitive!

Many have asked and the answer is yes, we will do this again in another neighborhood. This was just the first, and we learned a lot. We’re ready to apply those lessons to the next CommuniTee Art Project. We’re hearing calls from Roslindale, from Cambridge, and now from Somerville. It’s so great to know that there is such excitement around this project.

Also, please know that these shirts will be on sale at local stores in the South End very soon! They’ll also be on sale on CitySquares too! That all starts next week, so be on the lookout. We’ll update the blog, so stay tuned.

We have pictures from last night if you’d like to see them. Most of the pics were taken by my father, Joel Saren, who was kind enough to spend most of his time last night behind the viewfinder in his Nikon, and also a few from me, and from Julie Edwards, our Community Liaison. We’ll have a video up soon too, once it’s been edited. That should be great!

Once again we want to thank everyone who helped make this first CommuniTee Art Project a success…

• Will Kerr with Gallery XIV for letting us have the celebration at his awesome gallery, during Chris Hauck’s very cool and appropriate exhibition titled “Identity Crisis.”
• Akon and Oz from The Red Fez for their fantastic food and service at the celebration, and for putting up with us afterwards at their restaurant!
• The dozens of silent auction donors for their generosity and good will!
• Matt Ellis with Ellis Strategies, Chris Haynes with CBH Communications for their creativity and hard work, and for their passion for this project.
• Caitlin Sullivan at CitySquares for her extraordinary effort to make all this happen. Great work Caitlin!
• Bianca de la Garza from WCVB in Boston, who just lights up a room and who gave the CommuniTee Art Project such great exposure, and for bringing husband and fellow local celebrity David Wade as well the charming and adorable Danica.
• But, most importantly, we want to thank Rose, Ari, and Mr. Molina with the Boston Public Schools who are the real heroes in our community, and who work so hard to do what they do. Their jobs are the hardest of any, and they deserve the spotlight.

Stay tuned for more!

– Ben