Fun food for four weeks in Hilliard, starting Sept. 4
Pizza, hamburgers and desserts are among the categories of delectable foods to be showcased in Taste of Hilliard 2022.
Presented by the Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Credit Union of Ohio, Taste of Hilliard kicks off Sept. 4 and continues through Oct. 1.
Each of the four weeks focuses on a different category: Pizza Week, Burger and Sandwich Week, Traditional and Global Cuisine Week, and Sweet Treats Week.
Staged in 2019 and prior years as the Taste of Hilliard and Business Expo, it was then a single-day event at the Makoy Center, 5462 Center St., at which Hilliard-area restaurants and businesses showcased their food and services.
But the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event into the virtual realm in 2020 and last year.
It was a one-week event in 2020 and last year, during which, patrons visited participating restaurants.
Now in its 13th year, the Taste of Hilliard 2022 has been expanded to four weeks, according to Libby Gierach, president and CEO of the Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber decided to keep the same format as the past two years because it was found to benefit participating restaurants that patrons went into the restaurants, however, the business component of the event that once included material goods and personal-services providers is no longer included, Gierach said.
“The Taste of Hilliard is designed to get people into our restaurants and hopefully find ones they like and go back to again,” Gierach said.
Returning this year for the first time since 2019 is a “People’s Choice Award” in each of the four categories.
The popular-vote award was done in-person in 2019 and prior years.
This year, a QR code is to be printed on the receipts of participating restaurants.
Online votes are to only be accepted during the current week for a given category, according to Gierach.
Voting is to close at 11:59 p.m. on the Saturday of each week.
For example, Pizza Week is Sept. 4-10. Votes are to be accepted only during the week of Sept. 4-10 for the five participating pizzerias: Off Center Patio & Pub, Flyers Pizza & Subs, Ten Pin Alley, Sexton’s Pizza and Grandad’s Pizza.
Burger and Sandwich Week is Sept. 11-17, Traditional and Global Cuisine Week is Sept. 18-24 and Sweet Treats Week is Sept. 25- Oct. 1.
David Ball, director of community relations for Hilliard, said Taste of Hilliard attracts residents and those from outside the city, as well.
"The Taste of Hilliard is a terrific event that not only brings our residents out, but also draws visitors to our community to explore all the great restaurant options we have to offer," he said.
More than 20 businesses are participating and several are entered in multiple categories.
For a complete list of participating categories, visit hilliardchamber.org.
kcorvo@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekCorvo
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Delectable foods to be showcased in Hilliard
