Everything You Need to Know About Shopping Local | The Ogden Wire

Shane Osgurhorpe
Welcome out to the Ogden Wire. We are here today to talk about shopping local and supporting local this holiday season, time, time of year, that's always a big push. Clearly, we have some wonderful guests with us in the studio from the Ogden Downtown Alliance. You guys introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about ODA and what it is you guys do.

Jessica Anderson
Yeah, I am Jessica Anderson, and I am the Marketing and Communications Manager at the Ogden Downtown Alliance. I've been there about three years, and I really love this job and being involved in the community and getting to know of all all of our small business owners. Ogden's a unique gem here.

Cecily Kiss
Yeah, absolutely agree. My name is Cecily kiss, and I am the Community Partnerships Director at the Ogden Downtown Alliance. I have been with ODA since February, and I think one of the highlights of our roles is being able to connect with so many different facets of our community and be involved with so many of the small businesses, and being able to elevate and amplify their messaging. And I know that a bunch of them have some great deals and some great gifts this holiday season.

Shane Osgurhorpe
Well, since you guys are in the know, let's get into some of them and tell us what's happening downtown. Obviously, Christmas Village now in full swing. Lots of people coming out to see the lights and maybe grab some dinner. But what else can they experience shopping wise, as they stroll on down our downtown area.

Jessica Anderson
This is actually a great thing for us to talk about today, because last Saturday we were actually just downtown, doing a shop small Saturday with a bunch of friends, probably about 30 of us. And so yeah, we just had downtown last Saturday and also participated in craft Lake City when it was there at Union Station. And spends our money with the local economy and keeps the money circulating locally.

Taylor Hartman
So what's special about the downtown area, like what makes Ogden's downtown unique for holiday shopping, if you want to keep things local,

Cecily Kiss
I think there are so many shops and opportunities for folks who want to support local makers and artisans. We're so lucky that we produce Farmers Market Ogden, and we get to work with so many amazing local artisans and makers. And what I've seen is a lot of our small shops in Ogden support the same thing. So if you go into Beehive Naturals, not only are they making their own amazing products, like locally handmade soaps, but they also have a ton of different products from other local makers and businesses. You can buy birya balms that you can pop in your crock pot, or you can buy mushroom growing kits. I know that's on my wish list. They have lots of different honeys and all sorts of goodies. You can also go to Lavender Vinyl and find some local artists that are there. You can find so many different handmade cards and goods, hand poured candles at jungle room plant co you can make your own candle at one of the shops, yeah, at art box. And so there are so many opportunities to support local I love some of my favorites. Wild Meraki just opened on 27th Street, and they have an amazing selection of curated teas and handmade and locally sourced Bath and Body products and wholesale herbs and whatnot. And then just right next door is Salt and Hops so you can grab some beverages for when you're wrapping those presents, or they have some unique offerings, such as non alcoholic liqueurs and mixers and cocktail shakers. I mean, there really are so many options in Downtown Ogden, and not just on 25th Street, but in The Junction, you have Local Artisan Collective, the Ogden Downtown Alliance was just there two nights ago. We got to make our own Christmas ornaments with a marbling technique. But they also carry, you know, dozens upon dozens of local artists goods that are handmade right here in Ogden. When you spend your dollars there, you're supporting local community members and putting money back into their pocket so that they can buy their friends and family holiday gifts as well.

Shane Osgurhorpe
Yeah, and on the Artisan Collective, it's not just the products that you can buy in there. You can also book a class, you know, give someone a class for for a gift, you know, let them learn how to do stained glass or jewelry making, or any of the myriad of things you can do. In the artisan collective, one of my favorite places. Is in Ogden for sure. Obviously, this can go out to the restaurants as well. All the restaurants offer gift cards all of our local restaurants downtown. Great way to go out and support locals. And it's a popular time of year for like kind of company office gatherings. Let's go to our holiday lunch. Make sure you're getting out and supporting our local restaurants during that one too. And if you're looking for a list of those, I mean, the Ogden Eats, which just wrapped up, has a great summary of all that and all those great restaurants that did that.

Taylor Hartman
So yeah, places like Sonora Grill is really good for group gatherings, and I think a lot of people go to Slackwater for their staff lunches and things we visit Ogden oftentimes get Union Grill to cater our holiday party or our special events. So I know a lot of people do stuff like that. What is it when you are choosing to shop at a local store rather than go to a big box retailer or shop online? What does that do for the community?

Shane Osgurhorpe
Well, for me, I'm gonna, while they're thinking about, I'm gonna jump in and say all the little raffles and support of Little League football and high school baseball games. I mean, all these little things. If you look at the outfield fences, you look at the raffle items that you bid on for local organizations, 90% of that stuff is coming from our locally owned businesses that that are throwing that in there. It is Steve from Sonora Grill, and it's Kim and Pete from Roosters, and you're always getting the same gift. But though those are the things that add viability to like, things like the YCC or the GOAL Foundation or, you know, all kinds of our nonprofits that operate in our town, that keep our community vibrant and alive and bringing cool events and everything I see, the local support is huge for that, and the only way they can do that is if we, in turn support them through, you know, local shopping. So to me, that's a big one.

Cecily Kiss
Yeah, yeah. Truly. It builds community sustainability, and it builds a thriving ecosystem where, you know, you're supporting your neighbors, you're putting dollars into the pockets of your neighbors, and you're creating a possibility and an opportunity for them to continue doing what they love and feeding their families. And it keeps our economy thriving, but it really creates that opportunity. If someone's not purchasing those goods locally, then that maker, that artist, might not be able to stay in business. And then also just, I think, those locally made gifts, those things that you can find here, they carry so much more meaning than something that you're going to find online or in a big box store, because the things you're finding locally are unique.

Taylor Hartman
I oftentimes I think about what it means to be a tourist in a community. And when you're visiting a community, you're not going to the chains you're looking in, and you're finding what makes this community unique, what makes these locals thrive. And as a visitor in places I'm often going and supporting local. I think it can, you know, the holiday season is when Americans spend a lot of money, and to keep that money within the community to feed your neighbor's children, rather than an online giant that's taking a 20% cut of all proceeds. That's a direct way to support local it's one of the best ways you can support your neighbors as a consumer. Is to take your money. You know we have power as consumers, and that power is our spending, and when we carefully and mindfully choose where we spend our money, and when we think about other people in our lives, and when we think about how we can both support local and support them by showing them we love them, I mean local gifts to your point, local gifts show that you care. It's not just checking a box of somebody's list. You're going into a store and you have the people that you love in your mind, and when you see something that reminds you of them, you purchase it. And that doesn't just support your love of your family, but it supports your love of your community, and I think it's so important, especially in this year of 2025 where you know, things are very expensive and it's hard to shop this holiday season for many Americans,

Jessica Anderson
I think shopping locally too shows your significant other or any family member, and when you do find one, I feel like it's a better experience too. You feel excited to give a gift to somebody, and I think it's part of what makes the holiday season so special.

Cecily Kiss
I think even to that point I know Jess, I was downtown shopping with you last weekend, and. And I am not a big shopper. I'm the person who kind of is in and out, but I do want to find those meaningful gifts. And so I asked a few of the business owners, okay, this is who I'm looking for. This is how old they are. You know, I've got a five year old kid, or whatever it may be. And I know, you know, Kai at lavender vinyl was happy to tell me, Oh, I think this would be a great record for this person. And Marissa Mariposa was saying, Oh, we have lots of kids stuff upstairs, which I might not have known when I first walked in there. And so I think being able to have those conversations with the business owners who are curating their storefronts and finding these unique, locally made or handmade or sourced goods allows you to bring it back to a community level, where you're not just typing something in a search bar, you're having those conversations with the people who are providing these goods. And I really think that builds community in so many ways, 100%

Taylor Hartman
I'm also all for commissioning artists to do things. Ogden has a lot of really great artists. I know people commission folks to do stuff. We can AI generate an image of someone with their dog who's in heaven now, or we can get a local artist to commission that portrait of the dog. And when you support local like that. You're bringing your story to them, and they're bringing their story to you. It's holistic. It's a circle. It's the community ecosystem. First and foremost,

Cecily Kiss
I love that so much Taylor, and I think I would feel so bad if I didn't mention handmade food gifts are so big. So we've talked a little bit about, you know, spending your dollars at local restaurants, whether you're grabbing lunch while you're out shopping or looking at, you know, your businesses holiday parties. But I think that food gifts are also a great option. I love to eat. So there are a lot of local restaurants and bakeries. There's butter my bread bakery, where you can get a curated box of cookies. Or you could stop in sapori and buy a box of, you know, different cream puffs and eclairs. Or, you know, stop in Farmers Market, which after the season, but there are so many different food goods that you can treat your friends and family to as well.

Shane Osgurhorpe
Let's not forget our alcohol friends with New World Distillery and Ogden's Own Distillery, really unique gifts that really reflect that local kind of flavor, literally and worth going out of your way. And again, you can also book tours and distillery tours at New World Distillery, things like that that makes a great gift. A tasting in a distillery tour is pretty cool experience if you haven't had one yet. So, and then now we're starting to stretch out of our downtown area a little bit, I mean, and there are other great local businesses outside of the downtown area, Newgate mall, strangely, you know, used to be where you'd find all the big chains, the big stores, all the main the big brands. It's more or less become an entrepreneur's incubator over there. There's a lot of independent businesses, several bookstores in there. Now I was in there the other day, worth going in and checking out the independent shops in our in our malls and our shopping centers like that too, because they are around and you can figure out pretty quickly which one the independents are, and those are your neighbors and friends and get out and support them.

Taylor Hartman
So I also think that Ogden is one of the best places in northern Utah to buy second hand clothing and vintage clothing. Reborn Vintage is a incredible store along 25th Street. He does markets, he does local seller markets, and boy, do all the kids come up for that. I think we have a ton of resale vintage clothing that I think people are very interested in these days.

Shane Osgurhorpe
And the mall is the Newgate Mall is a place to go and walk around and enjoy American malls, and it's so great. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna give a little love to one for stocking stuffers, because it's easy to go into the Walmarts and the Walmarts and the targets and get your last minute stocking stuffers. Give Smith and Edwards a shot. Honestly, if you want to some unique stocking stuffers with a locally owned store that's been here forever, it's an experience. Go to Smith and Edwards and try it. You'll get that if you want your one stop shopping, you can even still do that locally.

Taylor Hartman
So Well, this has been a great Roundup, I think, beyond just talking about it, I want to go around the circle, and I want everybody to share their favorite store in Ogden, to shop locally at. Hopefully we get different ones, and we can just have a few more mentions. I don't know who wants to start.

Shaylee Stevens
Jump over and start with shailey. I've talked enough. I have two notes on here. I'll tell you my favorites, and then I'll also say that if you're looking at your list, and you have items on there that you think a local shop is not going to have, and that you have to turn towards the big box stores to get you are wrong. There are shops in our area that have the, quote, big box items that are going to give you a personalized experience. For instance, if you have a ski year in your life, there are places like the. Salomon center, who instead of just sending you out with your skis, they're going to give you a personalized experience and give you those recommendations that are specific to the skier in your life. So I like places like that, but then two of my favorite shops to get gifts in. One is new it's the Romantics archive on 25th Street. It is a new romance bookstore. They also have a small fiction section for the reader in your life. This is the perfect place to get a book. And again, you can get that personalized recommendation from the shop owners who are going to sit there and engage with you and build that community aspect. And then one of my favorite other places, similar to Smith and Edwards, where you can find some really unique stocking stuffers and gifts is the rainbow gardens on 12th Street. They are an Ogden staple, who have been around for decades, and you can find everything from unique Utah made chocolates to put in your kiddos stockings to the gifts for your mother in law, who has everything. So it's just a great one stop shop.

Sydney Pace
I love shopping. It's like my favorite pastime here at hobby. And so around this time of year, I always clean out my closet, because I never know what to ask for. So I always ask for clothes. And so my two favorite places to shop for clothes in downtown Ogden is Mariposa, just because that one is also like second hand, and it's like, she goes through and like picks like specific pieces that like fit the vibe of the times. And I just love it. So that place also honey and lime, I think, has really good clothing options. And when you like shop at these local community stores, I think it helps you feel more a part of the community. And then you like, recognize all the shop owners out on the street, and you just have new friends. So I love that

Cecily Kiss
this is so hard, and I know that I've already mentioned so many, so I think rather than admitting to favorites and losing friends, I I will just bring up a couple that haven't been brought up yet. Also great for stocking stuffers is queen bee giftery. They have lots of great cards stocking stuffers, chocolates, jewelry and some just fun items, kids books. They have a lot of those there. And then I would also say one of my favorites that is downtown is jungle room plant co you can get hand poured candles and plants and cards. And they just have a really great selection of things that are made here in Ogden. They also do some activities. So they have some little terrarium classes and things like that if you're looking for experiences or o town food tours is another great one if you're looking for an experience gift.

Jessica Anderson
That was what I was just going to say, actually. So thank you, Cecily, I kind of this year want to lean a little more towards experiences gifting and experience. And Rick proffer with O town food tours, does a really awesome food tour. He does three of them, actually. So there's one for bites and brews, where you can get alcoholic beverages while you're eating. There's one that's non alcoholic his regular food tour. And then he just introduced a dessert focused food tour as well. So I think that's a really fun experience for you to make memories with the people you love.

Shane Osgurhorpe
Yeah, I'm gonna go with Alpine sports, our longtime local ski shop once once a year, you got to stop and get your skis waxed anyway, get them tuned up. You might as well pop over into the retail portion. Always have kind of like what you're looking for, the best sorrels, you know, good winter boots, great gloves, great place for accessories, things like goggles and stuff like that. And then they've got all the top high end apparel that you can get in Ogden. So I'm going with Alpine sports on that one. How about you?

Taylor Hartman
Taylor, I think recreation outlet, because they're about to close, and you can literally give them a price for things right now, apparently. And with the Weber State downtown store, that's where I get my my dad wears his Ogden sweatshirt. I got him there. Like, literally every time I see him, I'm like, you don't have to wear Ogden gear around me, dad. Well, thank you both for coming. Thank you to the visit Ogden team for being here for the Ogden wire. Get out there. Shop local this December, you have a few more days left till Christmas, and you can always do more afterwards. For more information and for listings, you can go to visit ogden.com we got plenty of shopping information there,

Taylor Hartman
bang, boom, wow, and it was like, literally right on time. You.