¡Buen Provecho Pilsen! Is a Delicious Success
Kristy Menas
Published: September 21, 2009
This past Wednesday, September 16th, over 500 people converged along Eighteenth and Halsted Streets for the 2nd annual Buen Provecho! Pilsen restaurant tour.
Coordinated by the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, www.eighteenthstreet.org, it is held annually to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.
This year’s tour offered signature dishes from 28 restaurants in the Pilsen area, including: Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlan, Café Jumping Bean, Carnaval de Sabores, Ciao Amore, Cuernavaca, Don Churro, Efebos, Fig Catering, Fogata Village Restaurant, Honky Tonk BBQ, Kristoffer’s Café, La Cebollita, La Esperanza, Los Comales, Lush Wine, Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Nightwood, Nuevo Leon Restaurant, Panaderia y Pastelria El Paraiso, Panaderia Nuevo Leon, Perez Restaurant, Pollo Express, Ristorante al Teatro, Simone’s Bar, Take Me Out and Taqueria Cardona’s.
Lunch was served the following day by Lalo’s on Maxwell Street and Lawrence’s Fisheries, extending the event even further!
“Our primary motivation for creating this event was to expose restaurants in the neighborhood to people who had never been to Pilsen or only been to one or two restaurants” says David Betlejewski, Executive Director of Eighteenth Street Development Corporation (ESDC).
The event sold out of its 500 tickets early on the morning of the event, leaving little room for people who didn’t purchase their ticket ahead of time to participate in the festivities. “We hope to make next year’s event bigger and better, so everyone who wants to participate is able to” adds Betlejewski.
The tour attendees were given a ticket with the restaurant and menu listings, along with a coordinating map. From there, they were free to go to as many or few restaurants they wished, in any order. The evening proved to be a social event as well, with attendees sharing restaurant recommendations and making new friends.
This year also featured a coupon book.
Hector Saldana, the event organizer and creator of the coupon book says, “I wanted a way to show the restaurant owners their sales could be directly linked to this event.” Even Aeromexico contributed to the excitement, holding a raffle for two roundtrip tickets.
Based on a follow-up survey conducted by ESDC, nearly 100% of attendees were “very likely” to return to at least one restaurant featured on the tour. Betlejewski adds by saying that, “This speaks volumes to how influential this event is in regards to bringing business to the neighborhood.”
With both restaurant owners content with the new potential patrons reached and participants with a better idea of where to eat in Pilsen, it’s a winning situation all around.
Check out some footage of the crowds that converged for !Buen Provecho! as well as some of the best and tasty food that Pilsen has to offer.
Posted in Community Events
