Mayor Jeremy Stutsman is inviting the community to shop locally owned businesses this holiday season while having some fun.

This year has been challenging for local businesses, due to having shut down at the pandemic and having to add restrictions in the last several months to keep their customers and themselves safe and healthy.

“Local business owners—our neighbors and friends— have worked extremely hard this year to make customers’ experience as safe as possible, many times at the expense of their own revenue.” Mayor Stutsman said. “This holiday season, as you prepare to do your shopping, please consider buying from our various locally owned businesses.”

Local coffee shop The Electric Brew has a points system (Electric Brew Points) in which customers can earn points towards a free coffee with their purchases.

Mayor Stutsman, an avid coffee consumer at The Electric Brew, has been saving his points for several years in an attempt to accumulate more points than his friend and local business owner Alex Dugger for the top spot of most accumulated points.  “Since I couldn’t catch him I convinced him we should give our points away,” said Mayor Stutsman with a smile.

This year, they will be donating their collective 6,100 points to support local businesses—and get you a warm beverage this season!

To get a free coffee or hot chocolate at The Electric Brew between Nov. 9 and Dec. 24, present a receipt from any participating local business (see the Downtown Goshen Inc. map of participating businesses).

  1. The receipt must be dated the same day as your drink request.
    1. A minimum $5 purchase on the receipt is required.
    1. Only one receipt and one drink request per person.

The Mayor and Alex are challenging you to donate your Electric Brew Points as a thank you to frontline workers. The points donated will become part of a 2021 “thank you” for those who have kept our community running during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“By donating your points through the end of 2020 we can together show how much we appreciate all of our COVID-19 frontline workers,” Mayor Stutsman said.

Mayor Stutsman said that while the Coffee Points Challenge applies to downtown businesses, he wanted to emphasize that his invitation to buy local extends to all businesses throughout Goshen.

“We have locally-owned businesses all throughout the city, and outside of the downtown area. When you make your shopping list for loved ones, think of ways you can get them those gifts locally.”

*Note: Please call local businesses ahead of time to see their operation arrangements during the pandemic.

See a copy of a map with participating business by going to https://downtowngoshen.org/events/love-goshen-holidays/?fbclid=IwAR3-FUCIYPoSaOOzlziO5IXuuwGgWzSoVUFBrvQoxgWFWbM1IABJqLXGWaE