A card for Garden Ridge, and the businesses in it.

Garden Ridge Spotlight is a planned 9×12 card for 5,000 homes across Garden Ridge — the USPS carrier routes we buy in 78266 — with local businesses on it, one per category.A planned 5,000-home mailing, subject to confirmation of selected 78266 routes. The initial Garden Ridge planning estimate is about 4,000 homes; the final route count may change the mailing size.

The reason it's shared rather than a single-business mailer is money. A postcard from one company costs that company the whole drop. Local businesses sharing the same card each pay a fraction, which is how a card gets to five thousand houses for under a dime a door. The reason there's only one of each is that nobody wants to buy a slot next to their closest competitor.

The website exists because a card has a lifespan. It sits on a fridge for a few weeks and then it's gone. A listing doesn't — so every business we list, whether they pay for the card or not, gets a page here that stays up.

Where it goes next

This edition focuses on Garden Ridge. Each Spotlight edition has its own local businesses, category availability and mailing routes. Coverage for this edition is planned around 78266; final carrier routes are confirmed before printing.

Who's behind it

It's a small local operation, not a franchise of a national mailer company. You get the person who designs your ad on the phone, and the number on the card is answered by the same person.