A week long spirited battle royal wrapped up just ahead of the noon hour today, just in time for the winning team in Celebration! Cinema’s Celebrated Service Award to greet yet another full house of happy customers for a Friday lunch date. The Mason Jar Cafe came from the back of the pack, surging in the final hours with a full-court press to beat out Benton Harbor’s Hilton Garden Inn for the coveted salute to excellence in customer service.
Ten finalists from the local market have been lobbying customers, colleagues, family, friends, and even outright strangers in the bid to earn some invaluable face time on the big screens of the multiplex theatre on Cinema Way in Benton Charter Township. For a while it looked as if the theatre’s next door neighbors at the Hilton Garden Inn were going to grab the trophy, however Mason Jar owners Jayme Cousins and Abel Abarca Martinez resorted to an eleventh hour social media blitz urging fans to text their votes for the popular cafe and the method worked as they surged into the lead just before the close of balloting.
I reached out to Jayme for her reaction and managed to squeeze together her staff in the heat of the lunch hour crowd for the photo you see accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com. She was ecstatic, to say the least, telling me, “We are just so thankful for our staff and our customers. This really showed us how much our customers support and care about us.”
The farm-to-table-style cafe has been a hit since opening day with eager crowds spilling out into galleries and onto the patio in nice weather, keeping the kitchen churning continually. Located in the Benton Harbor Arts District at 210 Water Street, the diner has been profiled in many publications all the way to Chicago and Grand Rapids for the unique nature of its fresh delivery of quality food at an affordable price.
Jayme says, “We have heard so much feedback from our customers that not only do they love the food, but they also feel like this is home for them. It has shown us that not only does our staff truly care for their customers, but our customers reciprocate that love.”
Seeing the Hilton Garden Inn at the top of the polls late in the game, Cousins and Martinez elected to do a last minute push for votes yesterday ahead of today’s 11am deadline and Jayme says, “The outpouring of support we got (as a result of that push) was overwhelming! We are beyond grateful.”
As a result of their win, the diner will earn a year’s worth of big screen marketing saluting their victory at the Benton Harbor theatre, a movie watch party for the entire staff, and $5,000 cash.
The crew at Jack Loeks Theatres, headquartered in Grand Rapids, has not published their formal press release yet regarding the outcome…however, their Celebrated Service page on the corporate website confirms the message delivered to the Mason Jar team by phone this morning from Emily Loeks…they are the winners.
These were the Benton Harbor market competitors who were finalists for the Celebrated Service Award locally:
- All Star Family Chiropractic
- Biggby Coffee of St. Joe
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Cafe Mosaic
- Chatterbox Bar & Grill
- Hilton Garden Inn
- Jimmy Johns of BH
- Mason Jar Cafe
- Silver Harbor Brewing Co.
- Zoup! of St. Joseph
