'Not a protest': Lunch Bunch backs struggling Gibson's Bakery

OBERLIN — The crowd milling around outside Gibson's Bakery at midday Wednesday wasn't there to protest. It was there to spend, spend, spend in hopes of keeping the 137-year-old business alive. "We didn't want people to think we were demonstrating or rallying or anything like that," said Mike Bokulich, a Navy veteran and founding member of the Lunch Bunch. In the past two years, the group has traveled to more than 90 restaurants around Lorain County and just outside its borders. The core group, composed mostly of military veterans, started at Ziggy's Pub & Restaurant in downtown Amherst, said founding member John Sekletar. It's a "pretty much conservative group" that bonds over common interests, but tries to keep midweek gatherings nonpolitical, he said. That was the unspoken rule Wednesday in Oberlin, where politics tend to lean far to the left. Bokulich, a staunch Republican, said he tried not to even think of the words "college" or "lawsuit," or talk about politics while at Gibson's. A five-year battle between the bakery and neighboring Oberlin College ended in August when the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from both parties. That leaves the college responsible for paying more than $36 million in damages. They spring from a civil suit. At the end of a lengthy 2019 trial in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, a jury concluded Oberlin College had defamed Gibson's in late 2016. That's when students protested for days in front of the West College Street business, accusing its owners of being racist. The jury found that the college aided in that effort. Owner Allyn Gibson has made no bones about the financial state the bakery is in today, saying it's on the brink of closing unless the college starts paying the civil award. About a month ago, the Lunch Bunch met with Gibson at Bokulich's Brownhelm Township home to discuss how they could help him. "We want to help Allyn and his mother. They're slaving up there in the bakery … sweating like mad, trying to keep the business afloat," Bokulich said. Most Wednesday gatherings of the group attract 20 to 30 people, according to member Larry Cassidy. About 55 showed up at Gibson's Bakery. Bokulich said the group always encourages big tipping, since the goal is to help restaurant owners, especially those hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. At Gibson's, he spent more than $100. "The proprietors are so gracious when we come," he said. "Just anything to help. It doesn't matter what political affiliation they are." Gibson commented on how polite and helpful the Lunch Bunch was, but declined to comment further on the state of the business. Chronicle-Telegram chief photographer Bruce Bishop contributed to this report. Reporter Jason Hawk can be reached at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.