Right after restaurant week in 2020, the county experienced a second shutdown. The Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce had to come up with a way to safely celebrate its business of the year award recipients and associated Jubilee: Celebrate Business in Longmont event.
Enter: Celebration Boxes.
The boxes were a big hit and are making a comeback this year. They include a $50 gift card to any of four restaurants — Sumo Sushi, Longmont Public House, Cyclhops and Martini's Bistro — a gift card for drinks from Wyatt's Wet Goods and more than $100 of gifts/products from local businesses. The boxes have a value of approximately $180 and sell for $100 each.
The idea for the celebration boxes was born out of a driveway conversation between Leah Winkler, communications director for the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce and Karen Stallard, the Chamber's membership director.
"Leah drove to my house and we talked across the driveway last year. She brought this little box of products and pitched me the idea of these local subscription-style boxes that we fill with all of our local business connections' products. And I said,' I'm obsessed with this idea,'" Stallard said.
One significant consideration was that restaurants and bars were not open for indoor dining. The gala couldn't be a sit-down dinner as it was in past years.
"We were trying to solve the problem of how to get people dinner and drinks in place of this gala while getting them to watch the show. We thought, 'what if we did the local gift boxes: this event's in December. So, they would get a bunch of products right before the holidays; we could pull this off," Stallard said.
There have already been many sales this year. Pre-sale orders began on October 29 in response to local businesses asking about them for gifts to their employees. They also opened sales to previous box purchasers.
"We emailed everyone who had purchased a box last year to say thank you so much for taking a chance and supporting us last year. We're glad to have heard positive feedback," Winkler said,
The Chamber expects to sell out before the Jubilee event this year since over 140 boxes were spoken for within 24 hours.
Stallard and Winkler want community members to know they can purchase boxes at https://business.longmontchamber.org/events/details/jubilee-celebrate-business-in-longmont-861
