Cash mob to descend on Palmer Bar Thursday

PALMER — It’s like a flash mob, except you don’t have to know the moves to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to take part in the fun at the Palmer Bar at 6 p.m., Thursday.

Organized as a way to support Palmer business, Denise Statz said the event Thursday is the first in a series of 11 cash mob events planned in Palmer in 2013. Each Palmer Cash Mob event will showcase a different local gem.

“I’d like to think the whole damn town is a hidden treasure,” Statz said.

Statz, who owns NonEssentials in downtown Palmer, said it’s all about keeping Palmer visible and supporting local business. After she heard a story on the radio about cash mobs, Statz said she began exploring the idea and talking it over with friends and fellow business owners such as Theresa Roy at Cover Ups.

Cash mobs assemble a group of people at a local business to make purchases in support of the business and the overall community. The idea capitalizes on the reality that dollars spent locally are spent and re-spent many times before leaving the community.

Statz said the Palmer event also will focus on the social aspect of cash and flash mobs.

People who are down for a bit of this newfangled fun just need to show up at Palmer Bar with $20 cash and a willingness to meet new people.

“We are asking people to commit to meeting at least one new person,” Statz said of the mob scene she’s organizing.

Since Palmer voters passed a ban in October 2012 prohibiting smoking in public places, Statz said part of this effort also is to support these businesses forced to go smoke-free as of Jan. 2.

For new patrons of the Palmer Bar, bring some extra cash and enjoy the bar’s weekly steak night, too.

“The bar is immaculate and the food is great,” Statz said. “There are a lot of thing to recommend it to my clientele.”

Future mob events are planned at different Palmer watering holes on the third Thursday of every month. One difference next month is on Feb. 21 when the mob meets again, people won’t know which business will host until the day of the event.

“This is a fun opportunity for a cash infusion for businesses during the slower months,” Statz said.