City Manager update: December 2025

'Tis the season of giving. This year, I invite you to explore and support the small businesses that make up 95% of all businesses in Vancouver and keep your holiday dollars local. When you shop small, you support local jobs and the places and people who make Vancouver unique and keep it thriving all year.

Thank you for choosing local. I want to wish you joy and peace this holiday season.

Lon

Shopping local this season

• Vancouver's Downtown Association First Friday (Dec. 5) - Proudly sponsored by the City. Enjoy live music at multiple downtown businesses and the Dickens Carolers along Main Street.
• Native Made Holiday Market (Dec. 5-6) - At the Community Arts Hub, featuring Native artists and makers.
• Vancouver Farmers Market (Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) - one-stop opportunity to support local farmers, makers and more.

Gift guides

• Vancouver's Downtown Association Gift Guide - 47 downtown shops and boutiques.
• Visit Vancouver Holiday Gift Guide - books, apparel, specialty items and local favorites.
  

Support multicultural businesses

• Fourth Plain Forward offers a robust business directory and restaurant map to guide your dining and shopping adventures in Vancouver's International District.
• Follow and support local organizations making a difference for Hispanic-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, like Latino Community Resource Group (LCRG), Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber and SW WA LULAC.

Stepping up support for small business

Main Street Promise construction is paused for the holidays, so the corridor is fully open for dining, shopping and exploring.

As part of our first Economic Development Strategy that we adopted this past summer, we're creating new pathways for small business success by investing in neighborhood business districts, leveraging public assets for affordable commercial space, expanding access to capital and connecting historically underserved entrepreneurs to City contracts and targeted support.

On this front, we recently opened a Request for Proposals to identify a non-profit or other community partner to help establish Vancouver's first Economic Hub at 2607 N.E. Andresen Road. This project aims to create affordable, flexible space for local entrepreneurs/small businesses and open doors to more living-wage jobs and other business support services.

We're creating a Revolving Loan Fund to give small businesses, especially those that can't get traditional loans, better access to affordable capital. It's starting with $1.2 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and will be managed by a nonprofit community development financial institution. The fund will begin by supporting Fourth Plain entrepreneurs and then expand citywide.

The City also offers a range of tools to help small businesses start, grow and connect with opportunities, including free advising sessions, Community Development Block Grant support, a procurement portal for bidding on City contracts, a simple restaurant start-up guide, and free pre-lease meetings for entrepreneurs and food truck vendors.