As part of the International Cash Mob Day festivities, the Buffalo Cash Mob will visit the City of Buffalo’s oldest and most historic tavern – Ulrich’s – on Saturday, March 24th at 5PM. Have a ticket for the Sabres game at First Niagara Center that night? Stop in for some pre-game festivities and have some beer with the fans. Looking for a place to watch the game? Ulrich’s is perfect!

The idea of a cash mob began in Buffalo last summer and has now spread across the country and world, with events being held in over 100 cities and 10 countries.

The goal is to get ~100 people to “flash mob” a local establishment and spend $10-$20 each on the goods and services offered. No discounts, no coupons, no special deals. Just support our local merchants by spending $10 in their place of business. Think of it as a reverse-Groupon.

Instead of businesses offering crazy discounts to get people to mob their stores, the Buffalo hivemind takes the initiative and spends money for goods & services at posted prices. The best way to promote and grow Buffalo business is to support and patronize them.

It’s that easy. Invest in businesses that invest in our community! Ulrich’s is a community institution and deserves our support.

Ulrich’s Tavern has the distinction of being Buffalo’s oldest documented continuously operating tavern/restaurant having been established in the fall of 1868 and operating for over 50,000 days. Today it sits in the middle of the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus at its original site and building at 674 Ellicott St., corner of Virginia St. It’s the German Restaurant with the Irish Pub. Featuring homemade German-American food and a great draught beer selection anchored by Buffalo’s home town brewery, Flying Bison Brewery and the finest beers of Europe.

The Daley family has run Ulrich’s for over 50 years and is now second generation owned. Ulrich’s’ purpose for over a 140 years has never changed – to provide a public house where one can enjoy food, drink and camaraderie. Ulrich’s stands as a sentinel to Buffalo’s glorious past as well as its ever changing and hopeful future.

As cash mobs did originate in Buffalo, we’ll need to show that we know how to get out and support our local businesses during this international event. What better way then to have a few beers (and maybe some potato pancakes and sausages) at Buffalo’s coolest tavern?

Be there! Spread the word by posting this to your Facebook page, inviting your friends, and sharing the link on twitter with #BuffCashMob.

Who: You and $20

What: A Buffalo Cash Mob!

When: Today between 5-7PM

Where: Thin Ice at 719 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo

Why: Because you want to invest in the businesses that have invested in Buffalo. Because you love social media and making a difference in your community. Because you want to do cool things with cool people. Because you cast 2351 votes in the final round of voting and chose this business!

Stop in, check out an anchor of Elmwood retail and support their business as best you can.

This little idea, born in Buffalo, has now spread to over 70 cities and three countries. It’s received coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc. and on NBC/MSNBC, NPR, and dozens of web outlets. Be sure to come out and show America that we’re still the home of the cash mob and that we support our local businesses like no other city in America.

If you don’t know what the Buffalo Cash Mob is, please click here for the backstory or read one of the recent stories about how this locally born idea has spread across the country in the Wall Street Journal, on MSNBC, or on NPR’s Here and Now.

You nominated over 30 local businesses, including The Broadway Market, Animal Outfitters, Westside Stories, Budweys, The Sterling Tavern, GiGi’s, and Paula’s Donuts.

You cast 2351 votes in the final round.

And by a margin of eleven votes, you picked a winner.

The next Buffalo Cash Mob will be held this Thursday, February 23rd between the hours of 5-7PM at Thin Ice at 719 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.

Thin Ice received 956 votes and the Western New York Book Arts Center received 945. It was a close race, but Thin Ice won with a huge burst of votes last Friday as the contest came to an end. WNYBAC is an awesome local organization and I highly encourage you to visit the Book Arts Center and sample the wonderful offerings. As this contest has grown, the second place finisher one month usually emerges as the winner the following month. So, let’s keep WNYBAC in mind for March.

So, what is Thin Ice?

Thin Ice Gift Shop is committed to supporting the local arts community by selling locally hand crafted, one of a kind gift items. At Thin Ice we believe in supporting the country we live in and so everything at Thin Ice is hand crafted in America! If we can’t speak directly to the artist we won’t carry the work.

At Thin Ice you will find hand crafted, one of a kind jewelry; oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe pottery that is not only one of a kind and beautiful but also fully functional; a wide variety of glass kaleidoscopes; hand turned wooden bowls made from trees from the October storm; handblown and hand fused glass vases, bowls, suncatchers, amongst many other glass items; metal wall pieces to decorate your home; hand knit scarves, hand sewn bags; wood and glass jewelry boxes, and much, much more.

The website provides just a sampling of the work available in the store.

Essentially, a local brick and mortar version of Etsy featuring sustainable products.

After we visit the store, we’ll meet up across the street at The Acropolis for a beer. Or, we can visit last month’s cash mob winner, Chow Chocolat, which is right next door to Thin Ice.

By the way, I’m often asked why it is that we don’t actually “mob” the business by gathering en masse and visiting the store as a horde. The original idea of this was to allow the vendor or business to establish relationships with new customers, and not just get a quick $20 from a hundred customers. To allow people to visit the store, meet the owner and to get to know the backstory of both. This way, we build new and stable relationships which can stabilize monthly business. We can “mob” if the crowd thinks that would be fun, but we’ve been pretty successful ($10,000 spent at 6 local businesses) thus far. Let me know what you think.

If we can get 10% of the voters to visit the store, we could be looking at over 200 people shopping at Thin Ice this Thursday. So, lets convert those votes into dollars.

Invest in businesses that invest in us. Support Thin Ice at the next Buffalo Cash Mob.

We asked, you nominated, and after nearly 300 submissions here, on Twitter, Facebook and by email, it’s time for you to cast your vote for one of the top three nominees! If you have no idea what this is all about, please click here to learn more about the Buffalo Cash Mob. I’ll tally your votes throughout the week and announce the winner on Friday at Noon.

The top three nominees were The Acropolis, Thin Ice and WNYBAC.

The owner of The Acropolis is facing widespread neighborhood opposition to his expansion plans for the restaurant. The Acropolis has been an Elmwood institution since 1982, serving Greek classics and American fare, while providing a full bar service.

Thin Ice Gift Shop is commited to supporting the local arts community by selling locally hand crafted, one of a kind gift items.  At Thin Ice we believe in supporting the country we live in and so everything at Thin Ice is hand crafted in America!  If we can’t speak directly to the artist we won’t carry the work.

The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative exists to promote, encourage and develop the Printing and Book Arts through education and access for individual artists and underserved communities. The WNYBAC Shop stocks bookbinding supplies and papers suitable for letterpress printing and bookbinding. We carry Decorative & art papers for many uses including many Hahnemuhle papers from Germany, St. Armand Papers from Montreal as well as marbled and Thai rice papers at very reasonable prices. A selection of art and design books, cards, prints & posters are also available for sale.

Once the winner has been announced, I’ll reach out to the winning business and arrange a suitable day and time for an influx of customers. We want your experience to be positive and also allow the business to properly staff for the event.

Do you want to make a difference in your community? Do you like social media? Are you someone who digs doing cool stuff with cool people? Do you love supporting local small business? Well, welcome to the #BuffCashMob! We’ll be mobbing the next business sometime between 17-22 February. The date and time depend on what business you choose to receive a visit from the mob.

This little Buffalo-born idea has now spread to 44 cities and has made it all the way to Canada and England. It’s kind of a thing. In Buffalo alone, we’ve generated nearly $10,000 of revenue for local businesses while garnering dozens of news stories which help grow the customer base for these plucky little entrepreneurs. Pretty cool, right? Still not sure what a CashMob is? Well, click here for the background.

This is a tough economy and many small businesses in Buffalo and WNY are looking for ways to increase cash flow. That’s where we, the organized social media denizens of Western New York, come in. These businesses are rebuilding this city and working to make it a better place and we should return their investment with one of our own.The goal will be to get ~100 people to “flash mob” a local establishment and spend $10-$20 each on the goods and services offered. No discounts, no coupons, no special deals. Just support our local merchants by spending $10 in their place of business.

Think of it as a reverse-Groupon. Instead of businesses offering crazy discounts to get people to mob their stores, the Buffalo hivemind is going to take the initiative and spend money for goods & services at posted prices. The best way to promote and grow Buffalo business is to support and patronize them.

In previous months, we’ve mobbed City Wine Merchant, Lloyd Taco Truck, Village Beer Merchant, and Chow Chocolat.

Where will we go this time? It’s up to you!

Step 1: Nominate your favorite business in the comments section of this post, on Twitter using the hashtag #BuffCashMob, on our Facebook Page, or you can email me at chrissmithbuffalo@gmail.com

Step 2: Tell your friends about it and ask them to also submit their nomination.

Step 3: After I receive all the nominations, you’ll be asked to vote for one of the top three nominees.

Step 4: Come out and mob with us!

I’d prefer you choose businesses who are members of  Buffalo First! as every member of the organization is a certified, locally-owned business. Their full, sortable, and searchable membership listing can be found by clicking here.

Last month’s runners-up were (in no particular order), The Broadway Market, Westside Stories, GiGi’s, Explore and More Children’s Museum, and The Sterling Tavern.

If you don’t know what the Buffalo Cash Mob is, please click here for the backstory or here for our recent story in the Wall Street Journal.

You nominated over 30 local businesses, including The Broadway Market, Budweys, GiGi’s, and Paula’s Donuts.

You cast over 1000 votes in the finals.

And by a margin of two votes, you picked a winner.

The next Buffalo Cash Mob will be held this Friday, January 6th between the hours of 4-6PM at Chow Chocolat at 715 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.

At Chow Chocolat, we create artisan handmade chocolates using only the finest natural ingredients available. As the only true chocolatier in Buffalo our fine quality chocolate without the use of artificial ingredients is what makes us the best in Buffalo. Our organic free trade coffee and espresso products are served in recycled biodegradable cups, thus reducing environmental impact. We serve freshly baked pastries and baked goods daily.

A full menu of chocolate treats, gourmet desserts and drinks can be found on their website.

Artvoice TV’s Judy Sperry visited Chow Chocolat last year and submitted this video.

Chow Chocolat has a 98% approval rating on UrbanSpoon and was favorably reviewed by the well-regarded food, drink and restaurant review outlet, BuffaloChow.com.

Color us impressed.

It felt like the start of something more fun, a coffee and candy shop with personality. There was live music in the place when we visited that Saturday night, art from a very talented local artist hanging on the wall, and small clusters of customers – families, other performers waiting for the open mic, and us – sitting at the place’s few tables. The drink menu was a mix of coffees, hot chocolates, and tea; we sipped on the latter, strolled around to look at the art, and made another pass through the chocolates, getting extra pieces of gingerbread and a bag of the restaurant’s bagged, chocolate-covered espresso beans, found on the wall with small batches of other prepackaged candies.

Chow has been open at their Elmwood Avenue location for nearly a year and they’re excited to meet some new customers and welcome back some familiar faces tomorrow. Please let them know when you stop in that you are part of the Buffalo Cash Mob (simply as a means for them to tally the impact of the effort) and pick up some fine, handmade chocolates or desserts and ruin your New Year’s Resolution in style!

Our next Buffalo Cash Mob nomination and voting process will begin in two weeks and we encourage those who supported our runners-up this week, West Side Stories and Record Theatre to support them again.

We asked, you nominated, and after nearly 500 submissions, it’s time for you to cast your vote for one of the top three nominees! If you have no idea what this is all about, please click here to learn more about the Buffalo Cash Mob.

Voting will continue through 3PM tomorrow and the winner of the visit from the Cash Mob will be announced at the close of voting. We’ll advise the business of the impending visit and ask you to visit the business between the hours of 4-6PM on Friday. I’ll be on location during those hours to thank you for supporting local businesses that have invested in our community, but be sure to tell the staff that you’re part of the #BuffCashMob.