As Christmas creeps closer, we want to remind you to shop local. And not just local, but specifically, Shop MainStreet. There are twenty-seven MainStreet, seven Arts & Cultural and fifteen Frontier Communities in New Mexico. Each of them have great shopping and dining options for residents and visitors. Each community is unique and we know that you will find something you love as you explore in New Mexico and get “off the road” and into our communities.

It is a proven fact that dollars spent with locally-owned businesses recirculates in the community more than dollars spent in chain or big box stores: for every $100 spent in a locally-owned business, $68 stays in the community compared to $43 in non-locally owned businesses. In MainStreet districts we can take that statistic a step further. Business owners who work downtown are more likely to bank, eat, and shop in the district, thereby reinvesting their money into other local businesses.

At the launch of the 2013 Shop MainStreet Campaign last year in Corrales, a local business owner shared the story of her $100. She spent $100 at a neighboring restaurant, then the restaurant owner spent $100 at the local bike store, then the bike store owner spent $100 at the local co-op market which benefited five market vendors, each of whom ended up back at her business spending $20. Thus her $100 circled and benefitted nine different entrepreneurs, including herself.

So help support small business owners and Shop MainStreet!


Robyne Beaubien

Robyne Beaubien is the NM MainStreet Promotions Program Associate. Growing up she wanted to be a celebrity chef, but scrapped that plan after figuring out she was better at band-aid application and fire alarm testing than cooking. In her early twenties, she started working with churches and other non-profits creating marketing products and events. That evolved into developing programming, implementation plans, marketing strategies, and training leaders, as well as speaking at events and conferences. 25 years later, she is still speaking, writing, training and working with non-profits, churches, and small businesses. Robyne says that she loves helping each unique organization find new ways to tell their story. She currently works mainly with MainStreet organizations in image development, event development, and media relations. She is a certified National Main Street Manager and has spoken at three National Main Street Conferences. In her spare time, Robyne is a DIY junkie and has never met a piece of furniture, or a wall, that she didn't want to paint.