What is Local or Independent?

To participate in Portland Buy Local and be included in the online directory, a business or organization must be locally owned and independent. We define these terms as follows:

Locally owned

Locally owned means the business is privately held and the owner or the majority of the owners are Maine residents and live within 50 miles of Portland at least half of the year. This includes employee- and cooperatively owned businesses, as well as nonprofits, but not government units. The business must be registered in Maine with no corporate headquarters outside of the state.

Independent

Independent means the owner or owners have full decision-making authority over the business, and the business has no more than 10 outlets, with the majority located in Maine.