Fairfield mayor continues to highlight the city’s small businesses

Fairfield Mayor Steve Miller among the dozens of things he’s learned in the near-year-long small business video tour he’s been on since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, one of the most surprising things is he loves Tai food.

“I’ve found some really good restaurants,” said Miller, who’s interviewed for a series of Facebook videos dozens of small businesses since just after the start of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The mayor, who’s been pretty much a “burgers and wings guy,” has personally expanded his culinary horizons, and waistline, he said. “My culinary experiences have just been through the roof right now because I got to try so many different kinds of food. I never thought I would love Tai food, and Indian food, and some of the authentic Mexican food.

But he and his wife, Michelle, have returned back to many of these restaurants to try the food and purchase some of their wares as “it’s been interesting to learn some of these things.”

ExploreCheck out the city of Fairfield Business Spotlight videos, and the Mayor's Tour

“We can only hope this little bit that we’re doing will make a difference and help drive business into some of these small businesses because we want to support all the businesses in Fairfield,” said Miller.

The Mayor’s Tour was designed to be a limited-time video feature on the city’s Facebook page to help some of the city’s retail businesses navigate through the state-mandated restrictions due to COVID-19, such as only allowing restaurants to only have drive-thru and carry-out options.

“After the Mayor’s Tour was pretty much over, we realized there’s a lot of businesses in Fairfield in need and felt it would be nice to try to go out and profile these businesses,” Miller said. “And quite frankly, nobody else is doing it.”

The Mayor’s Tour 2.0 was launched shortly after the first tour ended, and eventually branded as the Fairfield Business Spotlight.

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Small businesses account for most of the businesses across the country, and have been called by economists and development professionals as “the backbone of the economy.” According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses create nearly two-thirds of net new jobs and drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness. Small businesses account for nearly half of the country’s economic activity, according to the SBA.

The Fairfield Business Spotlight features many of the city’s small businesses with a storefront. Videos have been popular, ranging from several hundred views to a couple of thousand on the city’s Facebook page.

There are several hundred small businesses in the city, and Miller won’t be able to get to all of them in this, the final year of his second term as mayor. Miller said he intends to step away from political life after this term.

“There are a lot of businesses that we have not been to,” Miller said. “We’d love to get out there to showcase some of the newer ones and some of the existing ones just to let people know businesses are there.”

HOW TO WATCH

The several dozen Mayor’s Tour and Fairfield Business Spotlight videos are posted on the city’s Facebook page. To watch, visit Facebook.com/FairfieldOH/videos.

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About the Author

Michael D. Pitman

Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.