“What is a cash mob? A group of Lompoc business people found out Friday when they got together to give a financial boost to Lompoc Valley Florist by ‘mobbing’ it, and spending $10 cash each there. It was Lompoc’s first cash mob, and the beginning of what the business community intends to make a monthly event.”

“The secret was revealed after the group of about 50 business people and friends gathered at Lompoc’s Pizza Garden parking lot in the 1000 block of North H Street, across the street from the florist. ‘I’m open to anything that’s good for building the community,’ said Larry Williams, owner of Pizza Garden. He offered a discount to all cash mobbers who gathered at his restaurant after the event.”

“In the beginning there was the “flash mob,” a group of people who organized via networking and met at a pre-determined time, date and business to suddenly break into song or dance. Some credit Buffalo, N.Y., blogger Christopher Smith with organizing the first cash mob in August. Others credit Cleveland attorney Andrew Samtoy with organizing the first one in November. Since then cash mobs have been cropping up all over the United States.”