'Holly, Jolly, Trolley' To Make Stop in Ingleside

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Ring, ring, ring will go the trolley next Friday in Ingleside’s Unity Plaza to encourage residents to shop within the neighborhood this holiday season.

As part of the city’s Shop & Dine in the 49, a “Holly, Jolly, Trolley’ decked out in holiday decor will stop at the plaza with carolers and free hot chocolate before moving on to Lakeside Village and West Portal.

The Office of Mayor London Breed and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development launched the “Shop and Dine in the 49” campaign in November ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday with the goal of boosting commerce within the 49 square miles of the city for the holiday season.

Breed held a press conference on Chestnut Street in front of Ei Home, a gift shop where buys scented candles.

“San Francisco’s diverse small business community is what makes our City the special place we all know and love,” Breed said in a news release. “As we continue on our economic recovery this holiday season, it is more important now than ever before to shop local and support your favorite entrepreneurs and family-owned stores.”

Shop and Dine in the 49 is a public-private partnership between the city, BART, merchant associations, community benefit districts and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. This year it is sponsored in part by Mastercard.

“San Francisco is home to more than 90,000 small businesses that create thousands of jobs that employ local residents,” according to the city’s news release. “Currently, San Francisco residents spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually at out-of-town and online retailers. This number increased during COVID-19 when nationally, online retail sales increased from 11% to 14% of all retail according to the U.S Department of Commerce.”

San Francisco’s small business advocates believe shopping local is more important than ever.

“I believe that our economy in San Francisco is well on its way to recovery and the Shop and Dine in the 49 Campaign will help bring holiday shoppers into our businesses,” said Maryo Mogannam, president of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Association. “Directing consumer dollars to small businesses is critical to local jobs and our economic recovery. Shifting even one percent of our spending from online retailers to local retailers would generate millions of dollars for the San Francisco economy.”