While the current stay-at-home order is in place and non-essential businesses remain closed, many small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. We are so thankful for the thousands of businesses who have supported MTA members over the years by providing discounts and we want to return the favor as best we can. We strongly encourage staying home and keeping your social distance, but many businesses are open for curbside pickup or delivery and are able to do so while meeting the required standards.
Below you’ll find details on many of the vendors who are still open and able to provide a discount. This isn’t a comprehensive list and we know that circumstances can change quickly, so be sure to check with them ahead of time. If you find that one of our vendors is not able to offer a discount at this time, please consider supporting them anyway; they need our patronage now more than ever.
Bookstores
In addition to the fight against retail giants like Amazon and Target who offer deep discounts and quick shipping, small, local bookstores are now closed to the public amid the non-essential business shutdown. Resist the temptation to click a few buttons to have your books at your doorstep in just a few days (as wonderful a service as that is!) and consider shopping for your classroom or leisure books at one of these small businesses.
Contact Karin’s Barefoot Books for 20% off books, activity decks, games, puzzles and other items. Curbside pickup is available from a few stores, like Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster, which offers a discount between 10% and 20%, depending on the item. Books by the Sea in Centerville is offering curbside pickup or free delivery, depending on your location. The 15% MTA member discount is still valid, all you need to do is call or email them and mention which books you’d like to purchase. On the South Shore, Storybook Cove in Hanover (at a new location), is still able to offer their discount to members. Personal purchases and classroom purchases must be completed in separate orders to get the discount. For the 10% personal discount, use code T10%OFF and for the 20% classroom discount, the code is T20%OFF.
For classroom needs, The Book Principal is still accepting orders, with a discount between 25% and 40% depending on the number of copies purchased.
Fitness
Being stuck at home can easily evolve into a sedentary lifestyle. Even if you didn’t belong to a gym before this pandemic, your everyday movements have been drastically cut back, too. You no longer walk from your car in to work, and for most of you, we’d bet a walk to the restroom is much shorter now than it was at school! These small changes add up, so whether you’re missing your gym or are just missing a little bit of movement, check out these options.
Club Pilates, with locations in Metro Boston, is offering virtual classes right now for $49.95/month. MTA members save 10% on the lifetime of the membership and a waived $59 enrollment fee, but this is separate from the virtual class fee. Members can still sign up for the monthly membership with a discount and the first payment will be paused until the club reopens. RECK Fitness in Beverly, another new discount this year, is still extending their 20% discount on monthly membership. You’ll be able to participate in live streamed classes like Bootcamp, HIIT, Yoga, Core & Conditioning and more. Thanks to Yoga with Anita (a member-owned business!) in Devens, you can attend a virtual class and the first one is free for MTA members. In addition, Anita offers free podcasts and videos.
Retail
Some of the businesses in our retail category are still open for delivery or curbside pickup. Agawam Flower Shop offers a 10% discount with code MTA$, and Classic Flowers in Chelmsford is still able to offer their 10% discount as well, for the local area only. Ipswich Hearts ‘N’ Flowers offers members a special discount with code ELVIS at checkout.
Need something new to entertain the kids – or yourself? Choose anything from baby shower gifts to 1,000-piece puzzles, the options are endless. Save 10% at Boing! Toy Shop in Jamaica Plain when you place your order over the phone. The discount is not available on their website. At Amy’s Cottage of Williamstown, the MTA member discount of $5 off $50 is currently valid. Visit their website for a list of products and get live tours of the store on Facebook so you can see it all yourself. Now that’s service. Miller Art & Frame in Pittsfield is continuing to offer their 10% discount and will provide curbside pickup. Hobby Bunker in Malden is doing mostly mail orders with limited pickup orders and is continuing the 15% discount for members.
Treat yourself or send your favorite seafood-lover a gift by ordering from The Fresh Lobster Company in Gloucester. MTA members save 10% and ship anywhere in the U.S. Options include live Maine lobster, fresh fish fillets, New England Clam Chowder and fresh seafood gift packages, which ship free.
Since we can’t go anywhere, there’s no better time to make your backyard a relaxing destination. If you’ve decided now is the time to purchase a hot tub or sauna, save $300 at New England Spas. Members can talk to store representatives over the phone and schedule a private appointment at one of their three locations.
Services
Purchasing a home or planning a move? Pandemic or not, these things can’t always be put on hold. For your home inspection in eastern Mass. or Rhode Island, contact Sherman Home Inspections and save $25. ABC Moving/Allied Van Services is up and running while continuing the 10% MTA member discount.
Already have a home but sharing it with someone you don’t want to (no, we’re not talking about your spouse)? Contact F&W Pest Control to reclaim your space and save 5%.
Continued support
Understandably, some of the small businesses that have been a part of our MTA discount community for many years either can’t afford to offer a discount or are completely unable to operate. Now, more than ever, they need us. That might mean purchasing their service or product without a discount or interacting with them on social media.
Follow Southwick’s Zoo on Facebook or Instagram for videos and updates of the animals that you wish you could see in person. The Chocolate Truffle in Reading, who has been offering an MTA discount for 20 years, is currently unable to do so. But, if you’re paying full price for something, chocolate should be up high on that list. Belkin Lookout Farm, a summer and fall destination for so many of us, isn’t able to open the farm to the public. They are, however, offering donut and cider/beer pickup as well as produce boxes. Roundabout Books in Greenfield, a new discount this year, has temporarily suspended their 20% discount. To support them, consider purchasing a gift card and then head in-store when they reopen for the 20% discount! If we want these businesses to be able to open again once the shutdown ends, they need our support now.