Organized by TEND, goal is to support local businesses

By Dave Schwab | SDUN Reporter

By all accounts, South Park’s latest “cash mob” on Saturday, Nov. 3 was a success, as organizer Marianne Reiner’s main goal is to promote shopping local. Reiner runs The Entrepreneur Next Door (TEND), an online resource dedicated to supporting local, independent businesses.

“The idea was to get a lot of great people who support local businesses … in one place,” Reiner said of the Nov. 3 mob event, which focused on The Grove at Juniper & 30th, located at 3010 Juniper St. and Progress, at 2225 30th St.

After The Grove and Progress, Reiner said the group headed to Station Tavern, at 2204 Fern St., for a repast.

A similar event came to South Park in December 2011, organized by Lauren Way as part of a national cash mob movement. That event mobbed one location, Make Good.

Subsequent events organized by Way – Hillcrest’s Bluestocking Books, Old Town’s Urban Seed, two North Park locations, Vintage Religion and Splash Wine Bar, and Rosie Lee’s British Foods in University Heights – occurred monthly until abruptly ending in June. Way also organized a mob at Comickazi Comics on Claremont Mesa Boulevard.

The concept for Reiner’s Nov. 3 event was similar to the others, Reiner said, with a common goal.

“You encourage people to spend at least $10 or $20 at a local business,” she said. “It’s just getting the local economy going. That’s the principle behind it.”

Cash mob’s are typically promoted on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, and Reiner included the listing on TEND’s website, as well.

She said she anticipated a turnout of 50 people from those who had intimated they might attend, yet judging by the turnout at The Grove early on in the evening, Reiner underestimated. Mobbers who turned out said they were pleased to spread their wealth around South Park’s small businesses.

“It’s a very special community and the store owners are really fantastic,” said Deb Morrison, who lives in the neighborhood. “We do everything we can to support the locals here.”

Both Morrison and another participant, named Madi, said The Grove was a good place for TEND’s first mob, as they carry a lot of gifts and homemade goods. South Park resident Judy Taylor, who also attended the cash mob, applauded The Grove owners Anne Mery and Susan Heinrich-Wells.

“I like bringing business into our community,” Taylor said. “Merchants make money; I like that.”

The Grove, a collection of 10 boutique vendors under one roof, benefitted from the exposure as well. Owners will mark their ninth year in business this month.

“We’re really happy that the neighborhood thinks enough of us,” Mery said, adding the local community is very supportive of independently owned and operated businesses.

Heinrich-Wells runs the yarn section of the store, where classes are taught and supplies sold. Another section of the store features a mother-daughter team exhibiting women’s apparel. Mery oversees the store’s book section, with a select collection of new titles.

The cash mob and Mery’s book selection drew Jean Fisher to the neighborhood from Point Loma. Fisher, a fan of books, said her daughter lives in the area.

“I support independents,” Fisher said. “There’s a uniqueness that comes with that. I love what they have in the bookstore that you can only get from an independent.”

Reiner, a translator by trade who lives in the neighborhood, said she started TEND to highlight businesses by “telling the stories” that are behind each one.

“I launched [the website] last June and it’s been very well received so far,” she said, adding that she promoted her own business a lot in the beginning. “Now, businesses come to me and ask if they can be featured.”

Reiner said she is contemplating similar cash mobs in other San Diego communities, like Little Italy, though she thinks South Park is the ideal location for a repeat mob.

“When you’re in a walk-able community like South Park, that’s a key factor,” she said. “I love to come here … from my house on the weekends.”

For more information on TEND, visit tendofsandiego.com.