Gift Cards are So Convenient ... Aren’t They?
At the Brown Get-Down, guests had the opportunity to bid for a variety of prizes, from a gorgeous boob mug by Black Banjo Arts to art prints, free passes to shows at the Cedar Cultural Center to gift cards to local businesses. Sweet Novemba and I wanted to support businesses that were affected by ICE activity in the Twin Cities, so instead of asking businesses to donate gift cards, I found four financial angels who supported purchases up to $1,160. This allowed me to give businesses money in the moment, and later drive business to them by distributing the gift cards. So smart! So easy! Right?
It turns out that it was actually hard to spend that much money on gift cards, especially to small and immigrant-owned businesses, in the week leading up to the show. The barrier that I hit many times over was that businesses just didn’t do gift cards. Or if they did, they didn’t sell them often and had a hard time setting them up. The latter situation generally resulted in a gift card—eventually. All it took was a little patience, and sometimes some troubleshooting. The sheer lack of gift cards was a whole other story, sadly.
The best we can do for those businesses, right now, is to name them for you and encourage you to visit them next time you have a need. You can do that for us, right?
Need a cake? Pan dulce? Tamales? Visit Panadería San Miguel on Lake Street at 17th Ave
Need groceries? Planning an asada? Visit Sam’s Market and Meats on 35th at Bloomington
Need sambusas and Somali tea? Visit Albi Kitchen on Nicollet between 14th and 15th
Need a kebabs, dolmeh, fesenjan, or biryani? Visit Nader Persian Kitchen on Cedar near Riverside
Hit up almost any restaurant in the Cedar-Riverside area for delicious Somali or Ethiopian food
Visit Karmel Mall off Lake between Pleasant and Pillsbury
Long-term, I’m talking with Ini Augustine of Technologist Computers and Elevate Hennepin (and designer of this website!) about how to help businesses get the most out of their point of sale systems, and to get their gift cards into your hands.
