San Luis Obispo Brings Back Buy Local Bonus Program to Support Small Businesses

San Luis Obispo is bringing back its popular Buy Local Bonus program to support small businesses this holiday season for the sixth consecutive year, the City announced on November 24, 2025. 

Beginning Black Friday, November 28, 2025, and running through Christmas Eve, shoppers who spend $100 at small, locally-owned businesses within the city limits can qualify for a $25 gift card to another small business until supplies last. 

Shoppers can bring a copy of their receipts to the San Luis Obispo Visitor Center in downtown San Luis Obispo. Participants can choose from a rotating selection of available gift cards from other local businesses, including restaurants, retailers, and service providers in the city. 

Individuals can qualify up to three times through Christmas Eve or until the program sells out. While shoppers can bring multiple receipts for a single entry, each receipt can be used only once. 

Receipts from the following businesses do not qualify for the program: restaurants, big box retailers, convenience and drug stores, grocery stores and supermarkets, gas stations, and lodging businesses. 

“If you plan to buy gifts this holiday season, why not get rewarded and support the local economy? This pro-business program is a direct investment in the local economy that is wildly successful each year,” San Luis Obispo City Manager Whitney McDonald said in a statement. 

Shoppers are rewarded for investing in small and local businesses, while these establishments gain new customers during the holiday season. This helps to keep the money within the community and boost the local economy, McDonald added. 

From 2020 to 2024, San Luis Obispo invested over $600,000 in gift cards from local businesses, the City said in the statement. Since 2020, more than 13,000 shoppers have turned in receipts for purchases totaling roughly $3.7 million in local spending. 

In total, the Buy Local Bonus program has generated over $4.2 million in economic impact for the community, according to the statement. 

More Festive Offers

To further encourage shoppers, the City is offering free parking in downtown garages (842 Palm Street, 919 Palm Street and 871 Marsh Street) on the following days this year:

• Thanksgiving Day through the following Sunday: November 27 to 30, 2025
• Every Sunday in December: December 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2025
• December 24 to 26, 2025
• New Year’s Eve and Day: December 31, 2025 and January 1, 2026

The City is also offering free rides on the Holiday Trolley. The Downtown Trolley will be decorated and will provide free service on Thursdays, from 5 to 9 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays, from 12 noon to 8 p.m.

The free rides will be available from November 28 through December 27, 2025. 

San Luis Obispo is also bringing back the SLO Restaurant Month in January 2026 to support local restaurants.