Do you love downtown Florence’s unique restaurants and the surprising and delicious menus you find there? Florence Main Street is again shining the spotlight on Florence’s downtown dining revolution with the 2015 Florence Foodies series. Florence Foodies is a unique social dining experience with an exclusive menu that features dishes not seen before on a restaurant’s regular year round menu. Think ‘supper club’ at home grown restaurants with special menus and a rotating cast of new friends. You’re going to want to be a part of this year long event!
Florence Main Street began the Florence Foodie series in 2013 featuring eight restaurants and it quickly exploded within the dining environment of the Shoals. The Foodies series restaurant hops to different downtown eateries each month from March thru November. The 2015 Foodies schedule is amazing and a delicious experience is in store for attendees including new guest speakers and dishes to tantalize your taste buds!
“I think it’s safe to say that the Florence Foodies series was at the forefront of the local food scene. Folks had their favorite places to dine but Foodies opened them up to so many more. Our restaurants saw new faces become regular diners because of Foodies,” said Teryl Shields, Executive Director of Florence Main Street.
New for 2015 is a special event featuring Chef Alan Phillips of the Red Clay Epicurean. Chef Phillips, a native of the Shoals, graduated first in his class at Le Cordon Bleu California School of Culinary Arts. After working 10 years in the food industry in Los Angeles, he returned home to start his own company, where he takes the food cultures of the American South and puts his special twist on them. He is hosting the September Foodies special event featuring only products from Jack O’ Lantern Farms of downtown Florence. This will be the special foodie event of the year and is not to be missed.
“It was not hard to convince Chef Phillips to join the foodie program because he loves a challenge to wow people with different tastes and textures of food locals haven’t seen before. So naturally Chef Phillips jumped to the opportunity of working with Main Street. His mission with this event is to show why people should buy from the only hydroponic farm, Jack O’ Lantern Farm, in the shoals,” said Christina Dorough, Event Coordinator of Florence Main Street.The participating restaurants for the 2015 Florence Foodies series are Wildwood Tavern, Sperry’s Restaurant, City Hardware, Odette, Imagine That Bakery & Café, Dish Gourmet Café, The Pie Factory, and Rivertown Coffee Company.
Tickets for Florence Foodies will be available online for purchase at the Florence Main Street website, www.florencemainstreet.org/store/florence-foodies, including individual and full season tickets by Monday, January 16th. The special event tickets will be available on July 1, 2015.
“Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to dine with the best and most creative chefs in downtown Florence. This is a great opportunity to become aware of what's going on in our wonderful downtown restaurants. As a Florence Foodie you will get sneak previews of dishes that may be included on the menus in the future. The chefs go all out to display their creativity for the Florence Foodies and to WOW us with their new dishes. In addition to all this is the opportunity to meet other local foodie folks and to make new friends. As an experienced Florence Foodie, I highly recommend that you come join us for the 2015 dining experience, “ commented Dave & Debra Reasons, 2014 Florence Foodies season ticket holders and originator of The Brown Bag Review blog.
Florence Main Street, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to working with downtown business owners, community leaders, and residents toward the common goal of revitalizing Downtown Florence culturally and economically. For more information about us or any of these efforts, please contact Florence Main Street at 256-760-9648 or info@florencemainstreet.org
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For many years, the Design Committee of Florence Main Street has published an annual calendar devoted to various aspects of historic downtown Florence.Some calendars highlighted historic commercial buildings; many focused on historic private residences, while at least one centered around historic houses of worship.The handsome 2014 calendar is entitled simply “Historic Downtown Florence.” It includes structures such as Wesleyn Hall on the UNA campus (built in 1855) and the recently-constructed law office of John Harris on South Court Street which is an excellent example of sensitive infill architecture. Also featured are beautiful stained glass windows at First Presbyterian Church and Ferdinand Sannoner’s 1852 map of Florence done in granite and embedded in the sidewalk at the intersection of Court and Tennessee Streets. All photographs are the work of local photographer Glenn Bevis.So, for just $5.00 a person receives an artistic calendar with 13 beautiful black-and-white photographs and a written history of each of the 13. It easily becomes a keepsake or a gift to a special friend or family member. The purchase of 50 or more reduces the price per copy to $3.00The 2014 calendar is available at the Kennedy Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 E. Tuscaloosa Street or contact Executive Director Teryl Shields by phone at 256-760-9648 or by email at: tshields@florencemainstreet.org .