Cindy Martorella sells T-shirts, nail polish and other products that change colors in the sun. Most customers at her Brick Market shop are tourists, but for a while, anytime someone came in wearing a military uniform, she’s given them a 10 percent discount.
“I think it’s important,” she said. “It’s a way to say ‘thank you.’”
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Now, as part of a Newport County Chamber of Commerce initiative, more than 250 businesses throughout Aquidneck Island are doing the same, and taking it to the next level. Launched in April, “R.I. Salutes” provides discounts to all military personnel, retirees and their families.
The participating businesses run the gamut: from the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, to the Travelodge in Middletown; from Canfield House and the Glass Onion, to a McDonald’s; from tiny shops like Martorella’s DelSol, to the Newport Yachting Center.
Most offer a 10 percent discount, but some go much further: Ben & Jerry’s takes 25 percent off; jeweler Grenon’s of Newport gives a 30 percent discount. The Preservation Society of Newport discounts mansion tickets by $2. Sakonnet Vineyards gives one free tour and tasting.
At its core, R.I. Salutes is just that – a salute and “thank you” to the military, said Chamber Executive Director Keith Stokes. But it’s also about recognizing their value to the local economy, highlighted recently by the Base Realignment and Closure process.
“Newport has been actively involved in military issues for a number of years; it’s a large part of our identity,” Stokes said. During talks about the base realignment, he added, “we were getting, time and again, especially from retired military, the recommendation that sometimes it’s great to just recognize their work. And what better way for a Chamber to thank these military personnel than to provide them with access to our members’ services and products?”
Terry Rowley, a retired Navy chief who owns two stores in the Brick Market, said the discounts can be helpful to the military “because a lot of them don’t make a lot of money.” But they also help the merchants, he said, by building up an important clientele.
“We don’t notice them so much in the summer, because there’s a lot of tourists, but in the wintertime, we see a lot of military from the base,” Rowley said. Martorella said about 10 percent of her clientele is in the Armed Forces.
Active-duty Guard and military personnel and their families make up about 40,000 people, Stokes said, clearly “a very substantial consumer market.”
“These are men, women and families who live in the area and shop locally,” he said. A state defense planning commission has been looking at how to raise awareness of the importance of the military in Rhode Island, Stokes noted, and this program “connects at the very basic level to the importance of the defense industry.”
The Chamber developed the program with the Rhode Island Defense Economic Planning Commission, and they hired a firm to develop a brand identity and build a Web site, www.risalutes.com. In April, they officially unveiled the program at a State House ceremony, and then over Memorial Day weekend, they hosted a special event in Newport to promote it, featuring a Humvee and a weapons display from the Rhode Island National Guard.
New participants keep signing up every day – Rowley, a big booster, said he’s got 10 more lined up himself – and now the Chamber is collaborating with its counterparts across Rhode Island to make “R.I. Salutes” a statewide program.
Meanwhile, Rowley said, the discount has “almost tripled” his stores’ military business. The Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina credits the program with attracting a major Rhode Island National Guard booking, along with several off-season weekend stays. And Brick Alley Pub General Manager Tom Desmond said about 10 people inquire about the discount each week.
As the merchants describe it, however, any extra business is just a bonus.
“We do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Desmond said. “These guys are doing a great job for us, protecting our families and liberties, and we appreciate this little bit that we can give back to them.”
