Steve Shutts, left, and Rob Schwind tally the day’s receipts, Steve’s niece Megan Johnson and brother Jack Shutts celebrate the final sale at the Chagrin Hardware in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Hundreds of supporters of the family-owned business flocked to the store.

You’ve heard of flash mobs, where people appear to randomly gather and break into elaborate song and dance routines.

But now, a new phenomenon, called “Cash Mobs,” is spreading.

Instead of breaking into song, members of cash mobs break open their wallets to spend money at locally owned businesses.

Since starting last year, cash mobs have been organized in 32 states and Canada. But unlike flash mobs, which are generally entertaining and trivial, they come with a serious purpose.

The idea is the brainchild of Buffalo blogger and engineer Chris Smith, who said that Cash Mobs are sort of a reverse Groupon. Instead of offering people bargain-basement deals, people pay the regular price to support retailers in their communities.

In a time where many small, local businesses are struggling, victims of a fallen economy, the concept is a financial relief, serving to bring communities together.

Smith said cash mobs are a chance for business owners to begin building a longer-term relationship with customers.

He also wants consumers to rethink the value of locally owned stores.

“[I want to] make them think once a month that you don’t have to go to Target for everything you need and everything you want,” Smith said.

Since he launched the first cash mob in August at a Buffalo wine shop, the idea has caught on.

In Warwick, R.I., Annie Johnson of “Anything Goes” said about 35 people came to her store for a recent cash mob.

“It was a total surprise to me,” Johnson saod. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is really happening.’ ”

Johnson, whose store features the work of 50 local artists, said the cash mob exposed new customers to their goods.

“We’ve already had people return,” Johnson said. “We’ve had people who couldn’t come to the original cash mob come into the store because they want to support the concept.”

Johnson said a local business group hopes to organize one Cash Mob a month to build awareness for the local business movement.

“We just want to keep paying it forward, “ she explained.

The formula is straightforward: People commit to spending at least $20 each at a local business to help expose and market it, which brings in new customers.

Like flash mobs, cash mobs are organized using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As their popularity has spread, they have received publicity from conventional media through announcements in the newspaper or on the radio.

The trend is creating a buzz across the country. Facebook community pages for groups such as, “San Diego Cash Mobs”, “Kenosha’s Cash Mob” in Wisconsin, and “Orkney Cash Mob” in the United Kingdom, are increasing in popularity. On Twitter, there are even more cash mob pages, and the cash mobs list of “blogs near you” includes locations in over 30 states and Canada.

A group in Cleveland started a website with “Mob Rules” to help other communities get started. One such rule recommends choosing stores that are locally owned and that give back to the community in some way. They’ve even declared March 24 as National Cash Mob day.

The group also encourages socializing and community bonding. Mob Rule No. 8 is: “The business must be within one block of a locally owned watering hole,” and Rule No. 9 states: “Cash Mobbers must join us for celebratory drinks after the successful mob.”

Mobbed businesses are chosen via social media. People nominate retailers over Twitter and Facebook, and after a week of nominations, are asked to come back and vote for the top three businesses. From those, a winner is selected. The business is contacted ahead of time so that it can prepare for the influx of shoppers.

As for the original cash mobber, Smith said he hopes to do something of a mash-up next time, where he infuses some of the music of flash mobs with the shopping from cash mobs creating a whole new experience.

He said that in his experience, each business has reported they’ve been able to maintain relationships with customers and benefit from the cash mobs.

“It’s not just about the money that comes in that day, it’s about a real small business that doesn’t have a lot of money and a marketing budget. They get a little earned media coverage they wouldn’t normally get that allows them to establish themselves a little bit more,” he said.

Smith hopes that “mobbing” these small businesses will give locally owned businesses community support,changing the way people view local retailers.

Are your kids begging for another bedtime story? Or are you begging for a little break? Join us as Bed-Stuy dives into the book world this March at Common Grounds Coffee House and Therapy Wine Bar.

Starting March 3rd, Common Grounds will have a children’s book reading every Saturday at 3pm. The authors themselves will read their books and sign copies afterwards. It may not be a signature from Mickey Mouse at Disney World, but I’m sure your little one will be excited and will definitely learn something. The authors reading in March have written their books with good morals in mind, beginning ith Grace Saves for a Rainy Day.  This  tale about learning the value of a dollar will entertain and educate your child (and maybe even us!). If the kids get testy Common Grounds has a great backyard to play in and to greet spring with open arms. If the adults get testy, save that angst for Therapy Wine Bar’s book signing.

Now that the kids got their story, it’s time for your own. I’d suggest Tiona Smalls’s book Men Love Abuse. Relationship adviser Ms. Smalls, from VH1′s “What Chilli Wants,” will sign copies of her book at Therapy Wine Bar on March 15th from 6-8pm. Bring your significant other or perhaps in this case a close friend (save the lessons for your honey when he least expects it), order a glass of wine, and talk love, or in this case, tough love. Did I mention the wine? This isn’t a kids’ bedtime story, after all.

[View Flyer]

Learn how to safely refinance your home.

> Interested in a lower rate on your mortgage?

> Want to switch from a variable rate to a fixed rate?

> Just looking to lower your monthly payments?

> Or perhaps you need cash to pay off higher-interest loans?

The Seminar will be held in collaboration with,

Amalgamated Bank, Chase Bank, TD Bank, Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bed-Stuy Restoration, Equal Housing Opportunity.

Time

Wednesday, February 15th 2012 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Location

Restoration Plaza 1368 Fulton Street 1st Floor Multipurpose Room Brooklyn, NY 11216

RSVP

Email bmitchell@restorationplaza.org or call, 718.636.6910

Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner/CEO of NYS Homes and Community renewal, presenting Governor Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget.

On January 26^th, Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner/CEO of NYS Homes and Community renewal, presented Governor Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget to a group of community representatives in Restoration Plaza’s 5^th Floor Boardroom. The new budget was met with excitement and some questions.  Pension reform and a teacher evaluation plan were big topics within the budget, but for Brooklyn representatives last night, housing and employment dominated the conversation.

Gov. Cuomo’s budget anticipates a $25 billion economic development agenda, funded largely by leveraging money in private sector investment rather than taxpayer dollars. The amount being put up by The New York Works Fund is $1.3 billion. The fund, Cuomo’s marquee infrastructure program won’t include transit, but it will provide funding for highways, bridges, municipal water systems, dams, and even state parks and historic sites. This program was developed with the intention of creating jobs.

The State is hoping to make up the rest of the $25 billion from other sources, including private companies, the federal government, and local authorities throughout the state. The private funding will allow projects like the $4 billion convention center at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens to go ahead as planned. The state’s only monetary commitment to the new convention center is the land on which it will be located.

Community representatives were tentative about the number of jobs that the new convention center would create.  A few noted that during the construction of the Jacob Javits Center, African-Americans were cut out of job opportunities.  There was also worry about the influx of gambling in these troubled economic times; people who are already struggling will be tempted by the promise of gambling wins.

Deb Howard, executive director of the Pratt Area Community Council, showed concern with what would happen to current funding.

District Leader of the 56^thAssembly District, Robert Cornegy, was concerned about the needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs. He emphasized a need for reinvestment in vacant warehouses located here in Bed-Stuy that could offer spaces for businesses to grow and expand. Cornegy noted that if light manufacturing could be brought back to Red Hook, it could also happen here in Bed-Stuy. Mr. Towns said there is no direct program to support light manufacturing at the moment, but there is $200 million in bond funding that can be used to help start up companies. Deb Howard, executive director of the Pratt Area Community Council, said there might still be funding to be awarded through the New York State Main Street Program.

Even with the prospect of jobs, many were worried that the employed still wouldn’t be able to afford living in Bed-Stuy.  Many are being pushed out of the neighborhood and young adults who return with a college education can’t afford to live in the neighborhood they were raised in.

Commissioner Towns’s remarks emphasized a need for more integrated housing. “The state has been very good at creating low-income housing and the skyscrapers you see in Manhattan but hasn’t done much in between,” he said. He hopes to see buildings offering space for elders, veterans, and middle-income residents. Community member Gloria Wilson sees a solution in initiatives like Project Reclaim. Launched by Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, Project Reclaim is designed to convert vacant luxury apartments into affordable homes for working families, middle class residents and senior citizens.  It was unclear whether programs like this will be eliminated in Gov. Cuomo’s government restructuring.

The Reverend Fred Lucas from the Brooklyn Community Church expressed a concern many in that room were feeling, “How will this budget impact black people and central Brooklyn?” After a moment of consideration, Mr. Towns replied with the analogy, “Often we have experienced the unfair sacrifice of the Chicken and the Pig, with some giving an egg and others a leg.”

Bed-Stuy is hot. The last unit on the market in the Bed-Stuy condo building 111 Monroe Street is in contact, according to Streeteasy and a broker representing the development. The building first hit the market in early 2009. A round of substantial price cuts was put into place shortly after that, and a grocery moved into the ground floor last year. Prices for the 29 one- and two-bedroom units ranged from $315,000 up to $469,482.

With a high rate of house sales, Bed-Stuy is primed to continue to grow. All these new residents are going to need places to shop and new businesses will thrive. Volume businesses like hair salons and grocery stores will always be needed but this new population will be looking for a diversity of shops. We can hope to see new restaurants, bakeries, clothing stores and service businesses in no time. No retail storefront will stay vacant for long with this kind of growth in the neighborhood. And already thriving businesses will continue to do what they do best, satisfy customers from around the corner to two neighborhoods away.

Alison Cross and her older brother Alphonzo saw a vast need for fresh food in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood of Atlanta, where they’d spent time since they were kids. The community, which is adjacent to the Atlanta University Center, had seen both vibrance and decay, and was begging for transformation.

So the siblings decided to fill that need, and hatched a plan to open The Boxcar Grocer, a new food business. Alison, who studied architecture and worked as a video editor, and Alphonzo, with a background in fashion, describe the independent grocery store, which stocks local, organic, whole foods, as being at “the intersection of food justice and high-concept retail.”

And they’re right; it’s not your average corner store. The market looks modern, with lots of light, stainless steel, and wood. The shop, which had a “soft” opening in late October and celebrated its grand opening last Monday, sits in an area dotted with old railroad warehouses. African Americans own the majority of the storefront businesses. The neighborhood is undergoing a renaissance with small art galleries, graphic design firms, and a tattoo parlor that attract the typical urban mix of students, artists, and free thinkers.

Alison, 36, has also written about the personal inspiration for Boxcar (“This is Our Land“), the socioeconomic challenges of the food movement (“All the Foodies are Rich, All of the Farmers are White, But Some of Us are Still Cookin’“), and its shortcomings (“A Limited Engagement“) on the store’s blog.

I spoke with her recently about her hopes for the family business and the obstacles she and her brother have faced along the way.

Why did you decide to open a corner store in Atlanta?

For years we recognized a lack of stores in the area where we could get food we liked when we came to town. The space became vacant in May 2009 but we couldn’t find anyone willing to put in a store. So we researched, wrote a business plan, and started submitting to banks for financing.

In the meantime, I was working at The San Francisco Foundation part-time and part-time at Feldman Architecture, so I was getting this great vision of what could happen when social ideals merge with beautiful design. We felt no one had done that. And there were very few people actually creating something new in terms of for-profit business models for food access. We also figured if we were going to uproot our lives and move away from the Bay Area, it had to be for something extraordinary.

Did you run into any challenges?

Unfortunately, the economic crisis meant the process took us two years to complete. Banks flat-out weren’t lending, especially not commercial loans to novices. But we kept charging along. We applied to nine different banks and one foundation and all said no. All we needed was one yes, and that happened in March 2011.

Did you get support from the healthy corner store movement?

People we approached in the national food movement didn’t really take us seriously until we actually opened the store. Maybe it’s because we came out of nowhere. We were not involved in politics, nor did we run in foodie circles. We’d meet people at food movement events and when I mentioned opening a store I got the sense that people were dismissive.

What kind of response have you had from local residents?

We have had overwhelming support from the community. That’s a wonderful validation because for so long it was this thing rattling around in our heads and on paper. People have been amazingly patient with our mistakes. People are just so grateful to have a grocery store here after all these years. On opening day–which we tried to do quietly to work out the kinks–there was so much buzz about the business we had a line outside the door before we even opened. It was insanity.

Locating local farmers has been a discovery process–we thought we’d be dealing with rural farms–so to find such well-established urban farms as Truly Living Well, Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, HABESHA, and Patchwork City Farms right here in the inner city has been incredible. It’s allowed us to tap their network of supporters and access a knowledge base that is helping us learn about organic farm operations.

I spent last summer riding my bike from farmers’ market to farmers’ market meeting vendors, tasting food, and connecting with the producers.

What about some of the craft products in the store?

One couple make these phenomenal pulled pork sandwiches and organic barbecue sauce called The Heat Legend. A product like that speaks to our diverse community. It allows us to meet people where they are with their diet but offer a healthier option that is culturally appropriate. Another producer makes these kale salads with sun-dried tomatoes that people go bananas over. We can barely keep them in stock. It feels good to offer a healthy fast food that people can snack on.

What’s it like running a business with your brother?

It’s awesome. We’ve always been close and we’ve always wanted to work together. I’m in awe of his creativity, social nature, and energy. He appreciates the way I dig down in the details and my diligence in seeing things through. We respect each other’s visions and know that we get more done together than we do on our own because of our complementary skills.

Can you give us some background about your own relationship to food?

I was a notoriously picky eater as a child. Left to my own devices I’d consume nothing but Frosted Flakes and Kraft macaroni and cheese. Both my parents cooked. My mom made Cajun spiced red snapper, jambalaya, and gumbo, foods influenced by her mother, who was from Louisiana. My dad liked to cook us breakfast. We weren’t really allowed candy or lots of fast food, which was maybe a once-a-month treat. After my dad passed away in 2001, I went to Grenada, West Indies. It was the first time I was really surrounded by utterly fresh food. I was eating fruit right off the trees, vegetables directly from the ground, and seafood caught the same day it ended up on my plate. It was healing and cleansing and opened my eyes to what a difference food can make.

What does food justice mean to you?

It means approaching food access as an issue that is not reduced to a socioeconomic determinant. It means adding more faces to the cause so people can identify and desire to be part of a lifestyle shift. If Jay-Z and Kanye can create a lifestyle brand that people in urban and suburban areas aspire to, regardless of their actual income, why can’t we do that with organic food?

We have had family members and friends who are highly educated and in the middle class develop diseases directly related to the food they are eating. I like to tell people that we are not in competition with Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. We’re in competition with KFC, Burger King, and McDonald’s, who are marketing directly to people like me. The food [access] movement is looking at low-income people and telling them to eat better, but not necessarily including the people who CAN afford to eat better but don’t think it’s important or don’t connect with how it has been presented thus far.

What does the future hold for Boxcar?

We have always envisioned Boxcar as a national model. We wanted to be able to create something that would inspire other social entrepreneurs to replicate and hopefully get more healthy corner stores popping up in food deserts to show the demand is there for these businesses. What Alphonzo and I have done is an incredibly risky venture from a financial perspective. But we made a healthy gamble that was deeply rooted in the strength of our education, experience, work ethic, and commitment to seeing the model thrive in different incarnations across the country.

For now, we are focused on building this brand into a strong foundation. We would love Boxcar to be the Walgreen’s of healthy corner stores. We’d like to see at least another five to 10 stores like Boxcar in the next five years.

Food Justice Educator and Urban Farmer Yonnette Fleming will be facilitating The Hattie Carthan Community Market Annual Unlearning Racism Council.

This will take place Sunday February 12th 2012 11AM to 4PM. Drumming will begin at 3pm.

Suggest $5 donation for the fresh food they’ll be providing.

This council will explore how racism and oppression work within individuals, institutional systems, and particularly our food system.

You can find more info at their website or on this flyer.

That Time of Year Again

> Ready to file your tax returns by March 15?

> Have home-based business questions about tax deductions?

> Using Quick Books or Excel to track records?

> Did you know filing taxes can also help prepare you to secure loans?

The Seminar will be lead by,

Rebecca Pear, Small Business Tax Specialist Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union

Time

Friday, February 3rd 2012 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Location

Restoration Plaza 1368 Fulton Street 1st Floor Community Room Brooklyn, NY 11216

RSVP

Email bmitchell@restorationplaza.org or call, 718.636.6910

The Pratt Area Community Council will be having another “Rolling Up the Gates” Storefront Stroll event. This is the a great place to go if you are looking to start a business in Central Brooklyn. We at Bed-Stuy Gateway can also help you to find a vacant commercial space without paying a brokers fee.

Pratt Area Community Council’s “Rolling Up the Gates” Storefront Stroll

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Time 9:00am until 2:00pm

Description
Are you an aspiring business owner?
Are you a property owner with vacant space?
Are you an existing business owner and want to expand?
Are you an organization with resources for effectively running a business?

If you are a start-up or an existing business wanting to expand and are looking for a home in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford Stuyvesant, or Prospect Heights Brooklyn, come join Pratt Area Community Council and WAPHA for another “Rolling Up the Gates” Storefront Stroll event. We will be “Rolling Up the Gates” of our vacant commercial spaces along Fulton St, and Washington Ave for an exclusive viewing.

Also local financial and business resource organizations will be available to speak about what business services are available to help you become a better entrepreneur and make your small business more competitive. Then take a ride on “Molly the Trolley” for a guided tour of vacant commercial spaces to locate a new home for your new business.

-9:00am – 9:30am Breakfast Reception
-9:30 am – 11:00am Guest Speakers [guest speakers TBA]
-11:00am – 2:00pm R.U.G. Storefront Stroll with Molly the Trolley

Limited Space – Registration is required please RSVP:
Phone: 347-823-5700 ext .11 or by email: dale_charles@prattarea.org