Madhatter Roastery passing along the $100 bill to Local Eatery earlier this month (Photo courtesy of Madhatter Roastery / Facebook)

By Scott Roblin

Buying It Forward

Small business owners paying $100 bill forward to support local industry

Apr 24, 2020 | 5:22 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It all began with a simple $100 bill, nothing out of the ordinary or too special.

Over just a couple of weeks however, that banknote has inspired small business owners across Medicine Hat to look after their own.

It all started in early April when a man walked into Gravity Sports on South Railway Street looking for some pedals for a training bike in his basement.

“One of the staff Mike went into the back and said, ‘I have a used set lying around here, you can have them for $10 if you want them,’” said owner Ben Roscoe. “The customer said, ‘That’s great’ and put down a $100 bill. Mike bent down to get his change and he started walking out of the door.”

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When the man was asked if he wanted his change, the customer replied that he wanted to do his part to keep Gravity Sports in business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation was a powerful one for Roscoe and his staff, showcasing the special relationship between customer and business.

“I think it shows Medicine Hat,” said Roscoe. “It’s great to see somebody really step in and appreciate local businesses.”

A few days later while going for a drive, Roscoe began thinking about the generous donation and wanted to see if the momentum could continue for other local businesses.

“I thought, ‘Well, what else could be done more locally with this seeing how it was given to us anyways?’” said Roscoe. “So, I phoned up Jacques at Travois.”

Roscoe used the bill to purchase $100 worth of beer down the road at Travois Ale Works and asked if the brewery would be interested in paying it forward themselves.

“We thought we should do the same,” said Travois Ale Works co-owner Todd Wiebe. “And we decided to pay it forward to Madhatter Roastery.”

On April 9, the banknote was transferred over to Madhatter Coffee Roastery in exchange for a bundle of gift cards.

Travois Ale Works passing along the $100 bill to Madhatter Roastery (Photo courtesy of Travois Ale Works / Facebook)

Co-owner Katrina Borrows said she was immediately on board with the initiative when approached by the Travois staff.

“We have this $100 bill, [Roscoe] spent it at our business, we want to spend it at your business,” said Borrows. “We want to buy gift cards, we want to give them to our staff or whoever, and then you guys can pass it on hopefully to someone else local.”

Two weeks later, the ‘Buying it Forward’ initiative has taken on a life of its own in the Medicine Hat business community with Local Public Eatery, Labels for Men, The Hat’s Olive Tap, and most recently Kitchen Kaboodle all receiving the $100 bill this month.

Local Eatery passing along the $100 bill to Labels For Men (Photo courtesy of Local Eatery / Facebook)

Watching his experiment grow to where businesses are jumping at the chance to support each other during this uncertain time, Roscoe said it’s been incredibly humbling to watch.

“Everyone is linked and we always communicate well with each other,” he said. “It really doesn’t surprise me to see everyone pitch in to help each other and support each other through these times.”

A challenge has also been issued for the Medicine Hat community with the goal of the $100 bill making its way through 50 businesses over the coming weeks.

If that happens, the businesses are encouraged to contribute a $100 donation to the Medicine Hat & District with the hopes of a $5,000 donation heading their way.

“When it comes to the business owners you know who they are, because when you go in there they’re the ones smiling and shaking your hand,” said Wiebe.

The support for small businesses continued out into the community on Friday, with Tiki Press Screen Printing & Embroidery launching their ‘Wish You Were Here’ fundraising campaign.

T-shirts have been designed for a number of local businesses like Travois, Medicine Hat Brewing Company, Boylan Imaging, Mike’s Meats, The Silver Buckle, and The Zucchini Blossom with half of the proceeds from sales going back to supporting these businesses during the pandemic.

The support has been overwhelming for those businesses like Madhatter Roastery who have had to close their doors to their loyal customer base.

“You put so much sweat and tears into your business and sometimes you’re like, ‘Do people realize… does it matter?’” said Borrows. “It’s moments like this, these moments in time that you really capture this experience and this feeling. It’s almost like it gives you everything you need to fuel the next hard weeks.”

As for the man who kick-started the whole initiative with his $100 donation, his identity remains a mystery.

“I’d really like to know who the gentleman was that came in and did that,” said Roscoe. “We never did get his name or anything.”

Despite the anonymity surrounding the donor of the bill, Roscoe added it’s proof that one small act of kindness can ripple into a tidal wave of good for the community at large.

“It shocks me all the time and I love it,” he said. “It’s part of why I love doing business here.”