Stark Flavor helps people shop local
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Canton resident Mike Sturdivant was working as a corporate sales manager at a chain hotel in Canton, and when he spoke to business travelers, they were often looking for small businesses to visit.
“Our hotel was in the middle of Belden Village, which is chain restaurant central, and these people were always looking for local breweries and local restaurants,” he says. “They didn’t want to go to a place that they could find in their hometown. They wanted to try something different.”
The experience prompted him to start the digital platform Stark Flavor, which had its first rollout this spring, to connect residents and visitors alike with small businesses in Stark County for dining, entertainment and more.
“We’re trying to build that hub that no matter what you’re into and no matter what you’re trying to find, you’re going to find a local small business and support your community all in one place,” Sturdivant says.
With many local small businesses, Sturdivant decided to divide Stark Flavor into multiple phases, with the first initiatives focusing on dining, including digital passports that allow users to check into a handful of businesses for a prize. In April, he launched the first passport for the Stark County Coffee Crawl, which invites people to check in with a QR code at 12 local coffee shops, including Whole Latte Love Cafe in North Canton and the Front Porch Cafe in Hartville. Users have until Sept. 3 to complete the crawl, and when they’re done, they can receive a free T-shirt or coffee tumbler. When the Coffee Crawl ends, a new passport will begin.
He received feedback from participating businesses that they have some new frequent customers who heard about them from the Coffee Crawl. That kind of local engagement is what Sturdivant is after.
“We want to give these small businesses a little more notoriety and traffic in their doors,” he says.
More initiatives are set to roll out, including a dining guide and programs that support local nonprofits and local bloggers and other content creators.
Sturdivant cares for the Stark community, and it shows.
“There is always a need to support locally,” he says. “It’s about creating a sense of community across the board.”
* Story was updated 7/18/22