In the Quiet Seasons, We Choose Each Other

There’s a certain stillness that comes with this time of year.

The holidays are over. The rush has passed. The weather is cold, the days are shorter, and everything feels… quieter. For many of us, this season invites reflection. Slower mornings. Fewer plans. More time at home. And while that quiet can be restorative, it can also be heavy.

This year has been hard. Not “busy hard” or “tiring hard,” but deeply challenging across so many industries. And for restaurants and small food businesses, this has been one of the hardest years we’ve seen yet. Costs are up. Margins are tighter than ever. Traffic is slower. And many of the businesses you love are working harder than most people realize just to keep the lights on.

Small businesses don’t have cushions. We don’t have corporate safety nets. We are powered by real people, real families, and real communities choosing—again and again—to show up for one another.

That’s why where you spend your money matters so much right now.

Shopping small isn’t about guilt. It’s about intention. It’s about choosing to keep your dollars circulating in your community. It’s about investing in places that know your name, remember your order, and genuinely care that you walked through the door. It’s about making your money count.

If you’re able, this is the season to double down on the small businesses you love. Grab the cheese. Order the wine. Book the class. Buy the gift card. Tell a friend. Leave the review. Those choices—quiet as they may seem—add up in ways that are anything but small.

We see you. We’re grateful for you. And we’re still here, doing what we do best: showing up, even in the quiet, even in the cold.

Thank you for supporting small. Always.

— Megan