Local Merchants Respond To Chain Store Ban Coverage

To the editor: Shop Local Nantucket is writing in response to the recent article regarding Roller Rabbit and Nantucket’s Formula Business Bylaw because we believe it raises a much larger conversation about the future of our downtown and the small businesses that help sustain Nantucket year-round.

Shop Local Nantucket is a collective of independent, locally owned small businesses committed to supporting the island’s year-round economy and preserving its unique character. We advocate for the local retailers who sustain jobs, strengthen the community, and maintain the traditions that define Nantucket. By raising awareness and working together, we encourage residents and visitors to support the businesses that make Nantucket special.

For local business owners, operating on Nantucket has become increasingly difficult. Commercial rents continue to rise, staffing remains a challenge due to the cost of living, and many employers now subsidize housing to retain workers.

At the same time, retail is changing. Some newer brands entering Nantucket may not technically qualify as chain stores, but they often operate with the reach and financial resources of much larger companies. In many cases, Nantucket becomes part of a broader marketing strategy tied to national e-commerce sales and brand exposure.

This is not about resisting change or opposing competition. Healthy business districts evolve. But we do believe it is fair to ask what kind of shopping experience we want for Nantucket's future.

The heart of Nantucket has always been the relationship between shopkeepers and the people who walk through their doors. It is the owner standing behind the counter who remembers a returning family after ten summers, who welcomes the year-round resident searching for a winter coat or a gift in February, and who keeps the lights on downtown long after the crowds have gone home. These human connections are part of what keeps Nantucket in people’s hearts, whether they visit once, return year after year, or remain on the island year-round. They are also the very things that cannot be replicated by distant corporate retail models.

Do we want a downtown primarily made up of businesses with deep ties to the island and investment in the year-round community? Or one increasingly shaped by seasonal retail concepts backed by off-island corporations and online sales platforms?

Small, locally owned businesses are the institutions that give Nantucket its identity. They create the kind of place that still feels rooted and distinct in an age when too many American downtowns have been flattened into the same familiar landscape of formula retail and mall commerce found almost everywhere off-island.

The Formula Business Bylaw was originally created to help preserve Nantucket’s unique character and protect against the growing homogenization seen in so many other destinations.

Nantucket’s downtown is more than a shopping district. It is part of the island’s identity. Once independent local businesses disappear, they are very difficult to replace.

We hope this conversation encourages residents, visitors, landlords, and town leaders to think carefully about how we protect the businesses and people who continue to invest in Nantucket, not just during the summer months, but throughout the entire year.

Sincerely,

SHOP LOCAL NANTUCKET

• Wendy Hudson — Nantucket Bookworks & Mitchell’s Book Corner
• Julie Almand — The Verdant Maiden
• Tess Anderson — Anderson’s & The Hub
• Tracy Berry — Hepburn
• Mike Campbell — Haul Over
• Bess Clarke, Stephanie Hall & Rebecca Peraner — Nantucket Looms
• Stephanie Correia — Stephanie’s
• Vanessa Diserio — Erica Wilson, Inc.
• Dee Fabbricatore, Daisy Learnard & Hannah Poindexter — For Now
• Jennifer Greenwood — Jennifer Greenwood Jewelry
• Elise Gura — SPACE
• Anna P. Jay — Anna P. Jay Fine Jewelry
• Nina Hallowell Liddle — Birdie by Nina Liddle Design
• Cara Marquis — Peachtree Kids
• Courtney McKechnie — Core
• Emily Ott Hollister — Milly & Grace
• Lisa Paone — Nalu
• Jack & Meg Pearson — Jewel in the Sea
• Wendy Rouillard — Barnaby’s Toy and Art
• Cara Scotto — Cara Norman
• Remy Schaefer Stressenger — REMY Creations
• Connor Soverino — Murray’s Toggery Shop, Inc.
• Stephanie Sproule — Bodega
• Liz Thompson — Blue Beetle
• Colleen Wurts — Atlantic