Sometimes magic happens in the most unexpected places. Like Facebook. Ironically, the credit goes to my sister, Cindy, who still doesn’t have a photo for her Facebook profile. One night we were texting our usual sister-to-sister messages (translation: cute dog stories) when I mentioned I had stopped by our favorite place earlier in the day.
“Hungry Bear?” my sister asked.
She knows me well.
Yep, I’d been to The Bear, as we regulars affectionately call it. I like to say I’m a regular at Ocala’s iconic downtown drive-thru whose menu boasts burgers such as The Papa Burger, Mama Burger and, my favorite, the Baby Burger (a kinder, gentler hamburger). Like many Ocalans, I grew up with The Bear. First, I started with their peanut butter and chocolate milkshake. Later, I honed my carb skills on their spicy fries. Now that menopause has set in, robbing me of fat-burning metabolism, I try to limit myself to Hungry Bear’s Diet Coke with the best crushed ice ever. From soda to shakes, The Bear can’t be beat.
Except it can, unfortunately. The Bear has come upon hard times. Summer is always a tight season for the drive-thru whose customer base peaks from September to May when Osceola Middle School and Eighth Street Elementary students, parents and teachers flock for an after-school treat. June through August are the lean months as Linda Williams has often told me, just the incentive I needed to visit more often. Williams and her family have managed Hungry Bear for as long as I can remember.
But lately, a new deterrent has hit The Bear – economic prosperity, as odd as this may sound.
Downtown Ocala is thriving, with new businesses and construction projects popping up on every corner. Even one close to the drive-thru. Which means more construction, which means closed streets and access to Papa, Mama and Baby. Revenue-wise, it’s like gasoline on a fire for a local business that already struggles during the summer.
Enter Cindy’s brilliant idea.
“I think I’ll see how many people read my Facebook messages and post if anyone wants to go to Hungry Bear, I’ll pay for their milkshake,” Cindy texted. “They can just ask for Cindy’s special milkshake and Linda will know what it is.”
Exactly, my dear Sherlock, er, Cindy!
I told her I’d post something on my page, too, but opted not to commit my sister to bankroll a pilgrimage to The Bear. Charity starts at home, people! So cough up a few dollars and partake in the deliciousness of a Mama-with-spicy-and-Cherry Coke. If you parse your order, you get it more quickly. I encouraged my friends to swing by Hungry Bear and “buy locally” as our local chamber would say.
Within minutes, I hit the “send” button to my Facebook friends.
That’s when the magic happened. Or as I like to call it, the beauty of living in Ocala.
Soon, friends started commenting. Then sharing my post. Within an hour, I got more shares then anything I’d ever posted in my entire social media life. I joked to my sister that The Bear now competed for the most “Likes” as my beloved dog, Honey.
By the next day, I received reports from the field. Operation Love The Bear was working.
“I had my first spicy fries at Hungry Bear!” one Facebook friend posted.
“C’mon, everyone, join me for lunch there!” another friend commented.
Linda said folks pulled into the drive-thru referencing “the Yeary girls.”
“I met some new faces today,” she said smiling as she handed me my order.
Knowing our special city, I bet she’ll meet even more.
