Hundreds gathered in the 200 block of West Main Street, Kutztown, for the 4th Annual Dinner on Main on Aug. 4.
Originally slated for Aug. 3, the event was postponed due to drenching rains that were forecasted for Friday evening. Despite the rain delay and local area flooding, the event still drew a sizeable crowd surpassing the cautious expectations of the Dinner on Main committee members.
“We had almost twice as many participating restaurants this year and despite having to postpone the event, we still had about the same turnout as we expected for Friday’s event,” said Shena Hesselbein, Office Manager, Kutztown Community Partnership. “We hope that the community had a good time together, maybe they saw some friends they don’t get to see very often. Hopefully they sampled some delicious off menu items and possibly tried a new restaurant they haven’t had before.”
The event, presented by the Kutztown Community Partnership, hosted 12 local food vendors who each served special menu items to a hungry crowd. The menu offered a variety of cuisine from chorizo tacos made by the K’town Pub to mac n cheese in a waffle bowl served by Pop’s Malt Shoppe. Attendees were entertained by the musical stylings of Sixty 30 while walking the street and sampling food from the Kutztown FOE, Camillo’s Italian Restaurant, Betty’s, Hive Cafe, Four Monkeys Coffee, Spectators Bar & Grille, and Saucony Creek Brewing Company. Complementing the array of food choices, Setter Ridge Vineyards and Golden Avalanche Brewing Company served wine and beer respectively.
“I think the big attraction is that it’s a very laid back, fun event. It’s simple in concept, but always delivers in entertainment and good food. The cost is also free to attend and food items for sale are also affordable making it a great night to come out and spend some time together with the whole family,” said Hesselbein.
For the first time in its four year history, Dinner on Main invited patrons to vote on which vendor should receive the People’s Choice Award. This year’s award went to Spectators Bar & Grille who served wings in their famous sauces, funnel cake fries, pork sandwiches, and mini pierogies.
“I think we had a lot more interaction between the crowd and the restaurants with the addition of the People’s Choice Award,” she said.
Hesselbein said that even though the event was successful, it was only about two or three people who organized the entire event.
“The event may seem small in comparison to some of the other local events, but it has a lot of moving parts and we could definitely use some more committee members and event volunteers for next year. We plan to promote the committee openings about six to eight months before next year’s event,” said Hesselbein.
Proceeds from the event will be reinvested in Downtown Kutztown through Kutztown Community Partnership’s programs and initiatives.
