Need to give your friends and family incentives to stay out of the big-box fray of Riverhead retail and stay east to shop for holiday gifts? You might want to hit Mattituck sometime this week and grab a "Mattibucks" gift card.
The cards are the brainchild of members of the and are available starting on Monday at the , in Mattituck, office in the Mattituck Shopping Center, and on Love Lane. The cards are real Visa gift cards and come in $25 or $50.
They will also be available for sale Monday night at the chamber holiday party at Vineyard Caterers in Aquebogue.
"This is a very unique promotion that I believe no other chamber has attempted," said Mattituck Chamber member Terry McShane. "We are investing in Mattituck in hopes that local folks will too."
The card, which was designed by Rachel Sweeney of Rachel's Graphic Design in Mattituck, will work as a regular gift card in any store that accepts credit cards, McShane said, adding that the chamber will make no money on them.
"In fact, we will lose money on the fees for each card," he said. "Anyone who purchases a card will pay only the face value of the card. There is no activation fee that you usually pay for with a gift card — the chamber will absorb that cost."
In order to prevent businesses that are selling the cards from taking on any fees as well, McShane said he encourages people to buy the cards with cash.
"Save local and spend local," he said. "I think we're doing something good here."
