A boisterous and bearded Matty Mailler frantically bagged groceries as dozens of people crowded around his register with chips, candy and ice cream.

About 30 people flooded into Matty’s, a corner store in Scranton’s West Side, on Thursday night as part of a cash mob — similar to a flash mob but aimed at supporting small businesses. Mr. Mailler was shocked by the sudden boom in business as he jumped from dishing ice cream and talking to children to ringing up groceries.

“Did this really just happen?” he asked after the crowd left.

Mr. Mailler’s joyous demeanor wouldn’t give it away, but he and his wife, Wendy, have fallen on hard times.

The convenience store at 2303 Jackson St., which has been open for 11 years, hasn’t seen that kind of business in over a year. Construction on Keyser Avenue, just a few blocks away, has forced drivers away from Jackson Street.

A year ago, he served about 1,000 people a day, but business has dropped by close to 90 percent, he said.

Not only has business declined, but last year, within a short time, the store was robbed, the roof started leaking and his basement flooded. Earlier Thursday, Mr. Mailler was in the hospital with his wife, who wasn’t feeling well.

“It’s been like a black cloud following us around,” he said.

That’s where the equally jovial Freddie Fabbri comes in. Mr. Fabbri heard about the struggling store and wanted to help out, so he organized a cash mob.

Through Facebook and word of mouth, he secretly invited dozens of people to swarm the store promptly at 7 p.m. His hope was the sudden boost in business would lift the Maillers’ hopes.

Matty’s is only the beginning, Mr. Fabbri said. He plans to find other businesses to support.

“There’s so much negativity in Scranton right now,” he said. “I’m trying to find something to get people motivated and feel better about their area.”

Many of the people were longtime customers, but some, like Cindy Bartels, were new to the store. Ms. Bartels said she lived just three blocks from Matty’s but had never shopped there.

“I’m definitely going to come back more and get ice cream,” she said.

State Rep. Marty Flynn, D-113, Scranton, agreed. Matty’s isn’t a store he normally stops at, but after going in for the cash mob, Mr. Flynn said he would come back.

“It had a really good vibe to it,” he said.

Mr. Mailler hopes the new customers come back. He has plans for a deli and salad bar to replace some of the empty shelves. Hopefully when construction ends, foot traffic will pick up again, he said. No matter what, he’ll greet every customer with a smile.

“This is karma at its finest,” he said. “You put good stuff out there, and it comes back.”

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lranker@timesshamrock.com, @lrankerNEWS on Twitter