The YpsiTasty Grub Crawl, featuring menu items from several Ypsilanti restaurants was designed for chefs, venue owners and food afficionados.
From 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, food lovers can indulge in the best food and beverages Ypsilanti has to offer. Hosted by the A2Y Chamber of Commerce, the event is a celebration of taste.
Attendees have the opportunity to explore and taste foods from several restaurants and shops in Depot Town, Cross Street, and downtown Ypsilanti. This event also gives the participating restaurants the opportunity to be showcased and celebrated. The cost is $25 for adults and $10 for children under 18.
Once guests arrive, they will be assigned a location to receive their tickets. Guests will take their ticket around to each of the participating restaurants and try different foods and samples.
This is not the first YpsiTasty Grub Crawl the city has hosted. Since 2011, it has been building a name for itself among the community.
“In 2011, the first Grub Crawl event was planned and executed,” said Rosalind Vaughn, the head coordinator of YpsiTasty. “The name was changed to YpsiTasty in 2018 because of its catchiness. In 2019, however, I believe we hit our peak. Just a year after changing the event's name, YpsiTasty reached its highest number of attendees, not including merchants.”
The 16 restaurants featured in this year's event include Bobcat Bonnie's, Bridge Community Cafe, Dos Hermanos, Encuentro Latino, Gora's Grill, MAIZ Mexican Cantina, Mama Pizza, Speedy's Big Burgers, STUFD, Sweetwaters Ypsilanti, Tap Room, Thompson & Co, The Wurst Bar, Ypsi Alehouse, Ypsi Cocktail Club, and Ypsilanti Food Co-op.
Along with these restaurants, there are three participating shops: Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center, Puffer Reds, and This, That & The Odder Things. While walking is an option, the YpsiTasty offers a free hop-on-hop-off ride from Golden Limousine’s trolly throughout the event.
Shops were not included in YpsiTasty until 2021, but when they were asked to be included, they were glad to be a part of it.
“They were very excited to participate and more than willing,” Vaughn said.
This year, the YpsiTasty will also include Ypsilanti downtown and neighboring area retail merchants to support their Chamber's Shop Local Initiative.
Through this family and community-based event, Vaughn hopes to give the restaurants and shops opportunities to showcase their products and services and provide the community with an opportunity for exposure and fun.
All profits go towards the chamber to support planning more events. For more information, visit A2Y Chamber's website. To sponsor or participate in this event, contact Rosalind Vaughn at 734-214-0107 or Rosalind@a2ychamber.org.
