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  • Pearl Brown, co-owner of Old Mission Multigrain Bakery and Cafe on South Airport Road, works on a batch of honey oat bread. The bakery will be the site of Traverse City's first cash mob on Saturday. Record-Eagle/Jodee Taylor

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April 5, 2012

Traverse City's first 'cash mob' is Sat.

Old Mission Multigrain to pay it forward

BY JODEE TAYLOR jtaylor@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Pearl Brown doesn't expect to get any sleep Friday.

Brown and husband Paul will pull an all-night baking marathon to prep for Traverse City's first "cash mob" at their Old Mission Multigrain Bakery and Cafe.

A cash mob encourages people to spend money at one business on one day. Old Mission Multigrain's day is Saturday, April 7. Pearl Brown said they've already selected the next business and will announce it next week.

She said they hope to have cash mobs every other week.

Julie Millen, owner of Benjamin Twiggs Legendary Cherry Products, spearheaded the inaugural cash mob.

"There's no organizing, barely any," she said. "Some Twitter, social media, I mentioned it at a networking group." She chose Old Mission Multigrain Bakery because it was off the beaten path of downtown, it's a relatively new business and she really likes Brown. "Pearl is so excited to pay it forward," Millen said.

The Browns have been baking since 2009 and opened the storefront last August. The bakery is at 1326 S. Airport Road, between Garfield and Barlow, next to Papa John's Pizza.

And it's a "double whammy," Millen said, because the store also sells Stone Cottage Fine Foods' wine jellies. The jellies are made by Gayle and Joe Gallagher, of Traverse City, and use all local wines, such as Late Harvest Riesling from Chateau Grand Traverse and pear wine from Black Star Farms. They also make a jelly using hard cider from Leelanau County's Tandem Ciders.

"We add cinnamon and cloves and it tastes like apple pie," Gayle Gallagher said.

The store also has other locally made products, pies, cookies, gluten-free products and granola. Bay Bucks are accepted.

Millen hopes each shopper spends $10, which would buy a half loaf of honey oat bread and a jar of jelly, Pearl Brown said, or three cinnamon rolls. Cash mobbers are encouraged to go to the bakery between 10 a.m. and noon, although regular hours are 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Already more than 60 people have said they'll attend on a Facebook event site; Pearl Brown admits it's hard to know how much to bake.

"Everything we bake is within 24 hours to someone's table," she said. "We'll bake like it's for a farmers market. If we have too much, well, we'll be calling Food Rescue."

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