Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people will be missing out on the sights and smells of Wallingford now that a once-annual event has been cancelled indefinitely.
Wallingford used to hold its own miniature Bite of Seattle. The last couple years have seen the decline of the event, including a cancellation a couple years ago, leading up to the controversial cancellation this year.
In the past, 25 to 30 restaurants along the main streets of Wallingford would open their doors for patrons to sample their food, at a modified price.
"The intention was for people to walk around from restaurant to restaurant," said event organizer Jake Weber. "The idea [is] you would get to see the physical restaurant and walk along and meet people along the way."
Wallingford resident James Hill described the event as a giant street party.
"A very large number of restaurants originally participated," he said. "It was like Bite of Seattle, except on a smaller neighborhood scale.... It was a nice community-building event. Communities benefit from those sorts of things. Neighbors get to know each other, and people get friendlier."
BUSINESS COSTS
Last year's event, however, had only about 15 restaurants taking part.
Weber said it was difficult to get restaurants interested because it may have interfered with their regular business.
"A lot of restaurants are on the smaller side," she said. "In doing the event, they might have felt like it prevented [customers] from eating a meal. The bigger restaurants can handle not getting a regular night. The idea was that more would come and try the food and be interested in coming back and trying more food sometime."
Wallingford Chamber of Commerce co-president Kara Ceriello pointed out a different problem: the cost of restaurants to participate.
"The price set for restaurants to participate, I personally believe, was a little high," she said. "If we set a lower price we could get more restaurants and bring in the same amount of money.... This year we could have gotten at least 23 to 25 or more, especially if we lowered the price."
The cost to participate was $300, which went toward advertising, event organization and the local food bank, Weber said. This cost did not include city permitting fees for sidewalk use.
A chamber sub-committee decided last spring to cancel the event. The vote was not unanimous, however.
Ceriello is one board member who strongly disagreed with the cancellation of the event.
"It's often difficult to start an event again if it hasn't happened in a couple years," she said. "It's not wise to get rid of [it] entirely."
The vote was a culmination of several ongoing meetings that had been devoted to the issue.
Ceriello said that at the final meeting last spring, she thought everyone agreed that the previous year's event went pretty well: "I don't know why, but some folks in the chamber board [said we] didn't have enough and [were] not going to have enough participation.... To me, it was sudden."
Ceriello said she is confident that had the event been held this year, event organizers would have seen more participation than last year.
A survey of the restaurants was supposed to have taken place to judge the interest in participation, but she said she is unsure whether that actually happened.
"I feel really strongly about it," she said. "I think if you haven't really asked all members and restaurants, you can't just assume they don't want to do it.... I personally believe there is interest."
Peter Limber, a manager at Rusty Pelican Café in Wallingford, said the restaurant would definitely have participated: "We always participate in the community."
CITY TO BLAME?
Ceriello, a Wallingford business owner, said she has heard numerous comments of disappointment about the event's cancellation.
She said she talked to someone who comes from as far away as Edmonds just for the event. Ceriello's store, Not A Number Cards and Gifts, is a primary location for citizens to voice their opinions.
"Because we've had so many people comment on this, I know people in the community are really disappointed it didn't happen," she said.
Hill is one person who is upset at the cancellation. He blames the city for putting restrictions and permitting requirements on participating restaurants.
"I see the present administration in Seattle government as interfering more and more and more in the lives of people, and unnecessarily so," he said. "I don't think they were protecting the citizens from anything. It's like any bandit opportunity...[a chance] to demand a fee."
A NEW EVENT?
Luckily for Wallingford, there is talk about creating a new event to highlight the unique culture in the community.
Both Weber and Ceriello strongly encourage suggestions from citizens. Ceriello can be reached at her store, 784-0965, or via e-mail at kara@wallingford.org.
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