Hold Fast Seal Beach campaign to hold weekly ‘cash mob’

Caroline Schmoops, a waitress at Bistro St. Germain, poses at the newly opened Seal Beach Chicken Co., on Main Street in Seal Beach. Courtesy photo

The Hold Fast Seal Beach campaign is gearing up for a quarantine cash mob every week to support our local businesses. One or more businesses will be featured each week on social media, via the #holdfastsb campaign. Mobsters will spend $20 and leave with goodies and a smile, knowing they are supporting a local business.

Traditionally, cash mobs were a way for large groups of people to run into a store or restaurant in a flurry of spending (most lasted about 30 minutes) and then go eat or drink at local restaurants or bars to socialize. Of course, that would not be prudent in today’s climate, so our quarantine cash mobs will be safe, socially distanced all day events, spreading the flow of customers throughout the day and evening. Better yet, mobsters can order merchandise and takeout or delivery from the comfort of their own home. Not in the mood to shop or eat out? Order a $20 gift card online and spend it when you’re ready or give it as a gift.

Unlike the original cash mob model, businesses will know about the impending cash mob so they will know what to expect and be ready to serve their masked mobsters safely and efficiently.

The first Seal Beach Quarantine Cash Mob will be held tomorrow, Friday, January 22 at The Abbey, located at 306 Main Street in Old Town. Mobsters are encouraged to order takeout or gift cards online at theabbeysealbeach.com, check-in on Facebook and use #holdfastsb so their post can be found. All mobsters will be entered to win a $50 gift card to The Abbey.

After months of quarantine, who isn’t ready to safely go out (or stay in) and be a part of a community effort to support our local businesses that support our small town?

But first, let me take a selfie. Cash mobs are meant to be shared all over social media to spread the news and make those cash registers ring. Blow up your social media feed with photos of you with your cash mob haul or meal. Check in at the business (most Old Town and Hill residents can do it from home) and top it off with #holdfastsb.

Quarantine Cash Mob Rules – Order food or merchandise online if possible. If in person, masks and social distancing (minimum 6 feet) are required. Be prepared to spend $20 or more. Check-in on Facebook (on location or from home) and use #holdfastsb to be entered into the drawing to win a $50 gift card to the business. Share, share, share.

The Hold Fast Seal Beach campaign was launched by the City of Seal Beach in the late summer of 2020 to support the safe re-opening of local Seal Beach businesses. The early campaign featured 4 marketing videos and a social media contest aimed at encouraging visitors and residents alike to support the people and places that make up the unique fabric of Seal Beach.

With the most recent lock-down imposed shortly after Thanksgiving, the campaign has shifted to focus more heavily on local shoppers and diners. Indoor and outdoor dining is no longer allowed. Personal care businesses are closed, and gyms are operating outdoors only. Residents and visitors alike have embraced and supported the campaign and its call to Hold Fast Seal Beach.