While most people have adventure-filled itineraries that often include tourist traps and attractions, when I travel, my goal is to experience the city through food and shopping. That’s it. That’s all my husband and I both want to do when we go on vacation: shop and eat.
When we travel, our intention is to shop and eat at places that simply don’t exist where we live. To us, that’s what makes that city so special – those one-of-a-kind spots that are unique to that city and that city alone.
In Las Vegas, it seems that most visitors want to go for glamour, especially if they’re from a small town. I don’t blame them. Of course they want to shop at Tiffany & Co. or eat at Spago, because those high-profile experiences probably don’t exist in their towns. However, the Las Vegas visitor shouldn’t miss out on our original restaurants and retail shops either.
While places like Honey Salt and Electric Lemonade Shop may not be so famous, they can only be experienced in Las Vegas. Anyone can shop H&M in a variety of cities across the U.S., but only in Vegas can you enjoy the retro coolness of Insert Coins. Do you see what I mean?
Supporting local businesses in Las Vegas has become quite the “in” thing to do. From Neon Bazaar (the next one is November 30) where only Vegas-owned businesses are showcased to the Life is Beautiful music festival featuring Vegas’ own The Killers to the one and only directory of Las Vegas businesses, true Las Vegas style is all about supporting the Vegas entrepreneur.
Whether you are a resident or a visitor who wants to experience Las Vegas the way the locals do, then I urge you to discover Shop-LOV.com. ShopLOV maintains a website that lists locally owned businesses, and organizes quarterly local shopping events. The site also sells items designed to benefit local Las Vegas artists. And when a consumer purchases one of these products, she receives a ShopLOV Connect virtual card that can be stored on most smartphones. When the consumer shows the card to a ShopLOV Alliance Member business, she gets a discount on her purchase as a gesture of gratitude for supporting locally-owned businesses. How cool is that?
So be cool, be stylish, be Vegas and shop locally. Go to www.shop-lov.com for a listing of Las Vegas businesses that ranges from restaurants to fashion to art. Shop and eat like the cool kids do.