Everyone wants to shop locally - but it's not always easy. Check Local First makes it convenient to find, support, and invest in the local businesses that make our community what it is. When shopping local is simple, people do more of it, and the whole community is better for it.
So we built Check Local First to fix exactly that: one place to actually find the local businesses in Reno, without wading through ads, chains, or guesswork.
Real people, real places, real stories — every purchase here is a small reinvestment in the neighbors, makers, and small businesses that make this city ours. When you join, you're not just signing up — you're becoming part of a community that chooses local first.
Our story
Everyone wants to shop locally - but it's not always easy. Check Local First makes it convenient to find, support, and invest in the local businesses that make our community what it is. When shopping local is simple, people do more of it, and the whole community is better for it.
So we built Check Local First to fix exactly that: one place to actually find the local businesses in Reno, without wading through ads, chains, or guesswork.
Real people, real places, real stories — every purchase here is a small reinvestment in the neighbors, makers, and small businesses that make this city ours. When you join, you're not just signing up — you're becoming part of a community that chooses local first.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Call me a crazy optimist, but I believe a lot of the world's problems can be solved by shifting our focus to our local communities.
My name is Tessa and I own the Nest, a vintage boutique right here in Reno. I've been in business in this area for over 20 years now. In that time, I've seen us go from looking up mom and pop businesses in the phone book and going to them in the flesh to getting cheap crap delivered to our doors through online shopping.
I started Check Local First after receiving a ton of positive feedback from creating a local holiday shopping guide called the Reno Nice List. As depressed as I get at the state of the world and humanity sometimes, I got a boost from realizing that there are a lot of people out there who want to shop small and local and support their neighbors instead of greedy billionaires.
Friends began to constantly text asking where they could get toilet brushes and non-toxic hand soap and all sorts of random necessities locally. And I would oblige, but it got me thinking that if we had a resource where you could search for these things, then people would be more likely to shop small and local.
The thing is, we've been thoroughly programmed that convenience is king and cheap items save us money. (I could write essays about how that's not true, but we won't get into that here…) And undoing this programming and its subsequent habits is no small feat. But every journey starts with one small step.
It has become hard to argue with the luxury of perceived convenience these days. That's why I thought if we could make a searchable directory of trusted local businesses, then it would be easier to Check Local First before sending our hard earned money out of the community to line the pockets of a handful of billionaires.
This has been a true labor of love. As a single mom small business owner, an undertaking like this is no small feat. But I keep seeing my fellow business owner friends go out of business, and things are getting tougher and tougher in my business.
I believe so strongly in this, and I am not the type to go down without a fight. Supporting small businesses and my local community isn't just a schtick for me. It's a way of life.
I hope you'll join me in committing to Check Local First. For ourselves. For our neighbors. For Reno.
With gratitude,
Tessa Miller, Founder
If you're here, it's because you believe a city is made of its small businesses, not its chains. We're just trying to make it a little easier to find them.
Meet the founder
Call me a crazy optimist, but I believe a lot of the world's problems can be solved by shifting our focus to our local communities.
My name is Tessa and I own the Nest, a vintage boutique right here in Reno. I've been in business in this area for over 20 years now. In that time, I've seen us go from looking up mom and pop businesses in the phone book and going to them in the flesh to getting cheap crap delivered to our doors through online shopping.
I started Check Local First after receiving a ton of positive feedback from creating a local holiday shopping guide called the Reno Nice List. As depressed as I get at the state of the world and humanity sometimes, I got a boost from realizing that there are a lot of people out there who want to shop small and local and support their neighbors instead of greedy billionaires.
Friends began to constantly text asking where they could get toilet brushes and non-toxic hand soap and all sorts of random necessities locally. And I would oblige, but it got me thinking that if we had a resource where you could search for these things, then people would be more likely to shop small and local.
The thing is, we've been thoroughly programmed that convenience is king and cheap items save us money. (I could write essays about how that's not true, but we won't get into that here…) And undoing this programming and its subsequent habits is no small feat. But every journey starts with one small step.
It has become hard to argue with the luxury of perceived convenience these days. That's why I thought if we could make a searchable directory of trusted local businesses, then it would be easier to Check Local First before sending our hard earned money out of the community to line the pockets of a handful of billionaires.
This has been a true labor of love. As a single mom small business owner, an undertaking like this is no small feat. But I keep seeing my fellow business owner friends go out of business, and things are getting tougher and tougher in my business.
I believe so strongly in this, and I am not the type to go down without a fight. Supporting small businesses and my local community isn't just a schtick for me. It's a way of life.
I hope you'll join me in committing to Check Local First. For ourselves. For our neighbors. For Reno.
With gratitude,
Tessa Miller, Founder
If you're here, it's because you believe a city is made of its small businesses, not its chains. We're just trying to make it a little easier to find them.
