Nonprofit launches interactive map encouraging holiday shoppers to buy from Lake Street businesses

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A local nonprofit is encouraging people to shop local and support small businesses along Lake Street in Minneapolis this holiday season, especially those that are still working to rebuild following this summer’s civil unrest.  

The Lake Street Council, a nonprofit that serves the Lake Street community, announced a new campaign Tuesday highlighting small, locally-owned businesses along Lake Street and sharing ways people can shop and support them. 

As part of the campaign, the Lake Street Council launched an interactive online map on its website that highlights bookstores, small gift shops, clothing shops and other retail businesses currently open along Lake Street. The nonprofit also offers a guide on its website on how to find and support Latinx-owned businesses and shared tips for getting to Lake Street. 

The Lake Street Council launched an interactive online shopping map of Lake Street businesses to encourage people to shop small this holiday season. (Lake Street Council / FOX 9)

The interactive map and other shopping resources can be found here. 

“Many small businesses on Lake Street are working to rebuild and recover following the civil uprising this summer and the ongoing challenges of COVID-19. It is more important than ever to support them,” Allison Sharkey, executive director of the Lake Street Council, said in a statement. “Whether you shop in person or order online, every dollar you spend on Lake Street helps keep storefronts open and local families supported.”

According to the Lake Street Council, more than 400 Lake Street businesses were damaged in the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd over the summer. Many of the affected businesses include those belonging to low-income entrepreneurs, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families and immigrant business owners.