In May the Support Local Mob visited Bob’s Flowers. The group seeks to spend a minimum of $10 per person at a downtown business during a “flash mob” event to show support for local merchants. (Submitted photo)

TIFTON — Members of the community are showing their support for the businesses of Downtown Tifton in a way that’s sure to catch even the businesses by surprise.

Since April, local residents and community leaders have made swift and sudden stop-ins at various downtown shops as part of the Support Local Mob, an initiative organized by Tifton’s Main Street program to back downtown vendors in a simple and effective manner that’s entertaining for all involved.

Consisting of city employees, community members, and even owners of other downtown businesses, the group selects a downtown business to pay a visit to each month, spending a minimum amount of $10 per person in the selected store to show support for the business.

Across their three months of operation, they’ve made an appearance at the Tifton Sweet Shop, Bob’s Flowers, and Southern Peach Nutrition, spending a total of $860.26 across the three visits. Hillery Culpepper, Tifton Main Street manager, hopes the initiative will be able to break $2,000 by the end of the year.

Culpepper noted that the process of choosing which business will be the mob’s next target is kept as tightly under wraps as possible to ensure that the actual visit remains a surprise for the selected shop.

The effort seems to be paying off, as she reports that the business owners visited by the mob have expressed nothing but excitement and gratitude for the show of support, even paying it forward with their aforementioned participation in future mob appearances.

“The conversation of the Support Local Mob can be heard throughout downtown,” Culpepper said. “Each month, we’ve seen the mob’s membership and participation grow, with other communities reaching out to gather more information as they want to implement this into their own communities.”

For more information or to express interest in joining the Support Local Mob on future business visits, contact Hillery Culpepper at hillery@downtowntifton.com.