These programs include Southlake’s Open Rewards program, which provides 5% cash back at various businesses and Colleyville’s gift card program, which mails out gift cards to residents that they can spend at local businesses.
“Spruce experienced increased foot traffic, greater visibility and more repeat visits,” Southlake-based Spruce Closet + Home owner Amy Kelly said. “It was all made possible through a city-funded initiative that supports local businesses without adding any financial burden to them.”
These initiatives were started to bring in sales tax dollars and help businesses during difficult times, city officials from Southlake and Colleyville said.
“Colleyville does a good job of keeping businesses [local],” Palio’s Pizza owner Tom Schott said.
The impact
Colleyville’s gift card program has invested $5.52 million into local businesses since 2018. The city mails $35 gift cards to Colleyville households once in July and twice in December to spend at local businesses, Economic Development Director Chelsea Rose said. The businesses are reimbursed by the city for the gift card money spent.
“Especially during Christmas, we’ve had businesses tell us, ‘If it wasn’t for [the gift cards], we don’t know if we would have made it that month,’” she said.
Southlake debuted the cashback program in January 2024, said Daniel Cortez, Southlake’s director of economic development and tourism.
The program uses an app called Open Rewards, which gives customers 5% cash back by shopping at participating Southlake businesses.
In 2025, popular Southlake Town Center spots where the cashback program was used include Postino, Moxies and Yeti, city documents state.
Many of Colleyville’s economic development programs started in 2018 due to the construction of SH 26, Assistant City Manager Mark Wood said.
The city expected a 1% sales tax increase but saw a 4% rise from advertising grants and the original $10 gift card program, city economic development documents state.
The grants give businesses up to $2,000 for advertising, per previous reporting.
“[Colleyville] is going above and beyond with incentives like the gift card program and the advertisement grant,” said Lourdes McWithey, owner of Colleyville Eats, a platform for supporting local businesses.
The Open Rewards program was created to help counter the post-holiday sales slump, Cortez said. It ran this year from Feb.1 to May 18 and featured 390 local businesses, per Southlake’s website.
By the numbers
Colleyville and Southlake have seen a steady increase in sales tax funds in the last five years, according to documents from the cities.
For Colleyville, this is, in part, due to more developments, Rose said. The city owns properties along SH 26 and plans to sell them to commercial developers, according to Colleyville’s website.
“The southern and northern gateways that we’re working on [are] more potential sales [for tax revenue] that can come back into the city,” Rose said.
Spruce Home + Closet had the most uses during the 2025 Southlake Open Rewards Program with 493 claimed offers, Cortez said. Clothing store
Saint Bernard and Postino were also near the top of the list of most claimed rewards.
Unlike other cities that limit the amount of cash back a customer can get, Southlake’s program is unlimited, Cortez said.
“If you are making a big purchase, make it in Southlake. It makes a difference,” Kelly said.
Southlake and Colleyville plan to continue their economic programs, officials said.
Colleyville officials said they are working on a program for commercial lease assistance to help ll available spaces in The Village, a mixed-use commercial and residential space on Colleyville Boulevard, Rose said.
The economic development committee is always looking at initiatives to add based on business feedback given during monthly economic development meetings, she said.
Cortez said when Southlake City Council approves the fiscal year 2025-26 budget in October, the cash back program will be part of the budget, with $100,000 set aside for its third year.
