Till the end of the month Eats On 118 is offering customers great deals on local business specialties.
From March 1 to 31, 118th Avenue is holding an event called Eats On 118. Participating restaurants offer up a special meal at a discounted price to allow customers to try what makes their business amazing. This event is put on by the Wild Heart Collective in Edmonton.
Joshua Semchuk, is the Interim Executive Director of the Alberta Avenue Business Association.
“We are looking to not only bring people to Alberta Avenue to dine, but there are a lot of great shops and a lot of unique opportunities to find things that you may never have thought of before,” said Semchuk.
Originally this event started out as a ‘taste and tour’ where people could try a specific menu item from many different restaurants on 118th Ave. at the same time. They would tour from restaurant to restaurant with many others in their group. Due to recent restrictions this couldn’t happen.
Instead people can either stop into stores directly to get a taste of what’s being offered, or this year, they are offering a Taste & Tour Box filled with frozen items from many different restaurants. The boxes sold out within the first two days and they had to make more which again sold out fast.
“It’s an example of how Edmontonians have been stepping up to really support locals and try something new,” Semchuck said.
Although last year hit many businesses hard, this has helped get more people into local businesses and supporting locals.
Battista Vecchio owns Battista’s Calzone company on Alberta Avenue.
“When [COVID] first came in 2020 last year, I did close for a couple months and then after that I slowly started opening up again,” said Battista.
This event has been going on for four and a half to five years and continually brings new people into local businesses.
Photo via Facebook
“I’m here all the time and I ask customers, if they’re new…and then they often say it’s because of 118th Avenue eats,” said Battista.
Both Semchuck and Battista are happy with how the event went this year and how everyone is still able to support each other in these times.
“Edmontonians are the best. My God, they’re just so supportive,” said Battista.
“It’s really, really nice to see that people are prepared to support places that they have never tried before or maybe that they never even thought of trying before,” Semchuk said.
They are looking at doing more events like this with one planned for the summer. If conditions permit, they are planning to host the taste tours again.
Stop by the many restaurants on 118th Avenue to participate in Eats on 118th until March 31.
To see a menu of the specialties being served visit their website.
