Everyone likes the idea of more money in their pocket, especially in this time of inflation. Well, whether you’re a customer or a business, we have a program made for you. It is designed to bring people into our downtown district to discover or rediscover our many businesses and professionals. The goal is to make the registers “ring” by bringing great value to customers and businesses alike.

I’ve mentioned in past columns our participation in the Department of Community Affairs’ Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) and the various programs and initiatives that are part of this great program. One of the programs is a gift card matching Buy One Get One (BOGO) program that we’re calling Ave Bucks. Businesses in the NPP district can sign up their businesses to participate. Through NPP, we will match $25 toward a $50 gift card purchase, or we will match $50 towards a $100 gift card purchase, that may be used at participating businesses. We rolled out this program last year and have spiced it up this year, bringing more value with a $50 BOGO and adding more businesses in our district where you may redeem your “Ave Bucks” gift cards.

We continue adding new businesses in the NPP District that accept the Ave Bucks Gift Cards. Gift cards may be split between any of the businesses or used all at once until your card is exhausted. At press time, the following locations are participating in this program: Rair Custom Graphics, Al’s Shoes, Kacee Ray’s Sports Bar & Club, DeSoto Jewelers, Kura, Alex’s Pizza, Tuque Restaurant, Spot At The Ave, Finer Flowers, La Chi Massage, NAPA Auto Parts, K’s Fashion, Brass Frog Photography, Cilantro Mexican Restaurant, and Cakes By Me. Check our website as we add more businesses to the program.

The program is a win for the customer because it doubles that customer’s purchasing power. It’s a win for the merchant because it drives more customers—and more sales—to the business. It’s a win for our downtown and the NPP district because it drives more customer traffic and interest in the area. What could be better?