By ANNA USHER

Local businesses are the backbone and the heartbeat of Mosman, and a new Chamber of Commerce campaign is asking residents to keep them strong this winter.

The Mosman Chamber of Commerce has launched Think Mosman First, encouraging locals to shop, dine and spend close to home through winter and the end-of-financial-year period.

Military Road is a high street packed with independent retailers, many of them living right here in the suburb. From Spit Junction down to the shops at Balmoral, the owners are often your neighbours.

And the local scene is thriving. Mosman is now home to 4,285 businesses, nearly 300 more than four years ago.

Nine in ten are small, locally run operators with fewer than five staff, the independent shops and cafes that give Mosman its village feel, not faceless chains.

When locals spend in Mosman, that money stays in Mosman. The Chamber says every dollar helps keep the village strong, resilient and vibrant.

“Mosman has always been a community that shows up for its local businesses. This campaign is a gentle but important reminder that every purchase, big or small, can make a real difference,” Chamber President Tamara Keniry said.

Running across June and July, the campaign will be everywhere: on bus stops, in shop windows, across social media and in local press.

Businesses will display a poster in their windows, and Mosman Council is backing the push.

The message is simple. Before you spend, ask yourself: can I get what I need right here in Mosman?

The campaign has already struck a chord with local business owners.

For Alessandro and Anna Pavoni, who run Ormeggio at The Spit, that support is everything.

“Winter is when local support makes the biggest difference to small hospitality businesses, helping us keep our teams employed and our doors open. Every visit has a real impact,” they told Mosman Collective.

“Being part of the Mosman community is something we’re incredibly proud of, and it’s a privilege to welcome so many familiar faces throughout the year. 17 years as part of the community is not something we take for granted.”

Penny Bell, who owns Club Pilates Mosman, put it more personally.

“There’s something special about a Mosman winter – the cooler mornings, the quieter streets, and it’s exactly when our local businesses need us most,” she told Mosman Collective.

“When you choose the studio down the road, the café on the corner or the boutique you’ve walked past a hundred times, you’re not just buying a coffee or a class; you’re keeping our village warm and bustling, employing your neighbours and making sure Mosman stays the kind of place we all love coming home to.”

“Being part of this community has been one of the great joys of my life. The familiar faces, the genuine support, the sense that we’re all in it together. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Ultimately it is a celebration of what makes Mosman, Mosman: the people, the shopfronts and the connections behind them. The campaign runs until the end of July.