Tickets on sale now for tasting tour of 11 Cleveland, Tenn., restaurants

A pimento cheese, Thai peanut butter and bacon sandwich at The Press. The 2-month-old restaurant will serve pimento cheese on croissants during Downtown Cleveland Dine Around.
A pimento cheese, Thai peanut butter and bacon sandwich at The Press. The 2-month-old restaurant will serve pimento cheese on croissants during Downtown Cleveland Dine Around.

Participating Restaurants

› Café Roma, 220 N. Ocoee St.› Cobblestone Grill, 170 N. Ocoee St.› Catch Bar & Grill, 233 E. Inman St.› CBC Cleveland, 185 E. Inman St.› 5 Point Café, 105 Edwards St. SE› Gardner’s Market, 262 Broad St. NW› GDaddy’s BBQ, 33 Second St. SW› Mash & Hops, 168 First St.› Stack Southern Bistro, 166 First St. NE› The Press, 168 First St.› The Spot, 45 N. Ocoee St.

Sample house specialties from 11 Cleveland, Tenn., restaurants when the fifth annual Cleveland Downtown Dine Around is held Thursday, April 26, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event for foodies is sponsored by MainStreet Cleveland.

The 11 venues give an overview of dining options in downtown Cleveland from fine dining to quick bites to wine bars, as well as draw attention to new and historic locations. Best of all, the 11 are within easy walking distance of each other - Broad and Ocoee streets over to Parker Street - making it easy to burn calories walking from one location to the next.

To make the walk more enjoyable, live jazz music will fill the air. Performers will be located on Ocoee Street, Broad Street, First and Second streets and in First Street Square. The work of local artists will be on view in Back Alley Gallery in the alley between First and Second streets.

The Press, 168 First St., is the newest venue among the participating restaurants. It's a wine and cider bar that serves breakfast and lunch dishes, then light fare in the evenings such as charcuterie boards and desserts.

"My hope is that we become that before-dinner or after-dinner spot in the evenings," says owner Beth Finnell. Finnell is a seventh-grade special-education teacher for the Bradley County School System who runs from the classroom to the dining room each day.

Finnell is hoping to increase her new restaurant's exposure, get its name out, through Dine Around.

"Dine Around is a big deal in Cleveland. You get a lot of people for Dine Around who normally don't come downtown and see everything we have. I'm on Facebook; that's how I've been getting the word out, but there are a lot of people not on social media who don't know about us."

Dine Around tickets will be printed with a listing of each restaurant, says Sharon Marr, MainStreet Cleveland executive director. When patrons enter a restaurant, an employee will check that location's name off the ticket.

Marr says visitors receive a tasting plate with whatever food that restaurant chooses to feature. For example, The Press will be serving chicken salad on croissants and pimento cheese on croissants, says Finnell. Before the night is over, visitors will have sampled a variety of foods from appetizers to desserts.

Retail stores also will be open that evening to squeeze in some shopping between bites. Some of those offering shopping specials are Art & Designs by Denise, Checkered Past, Element, Hyderhangout, Museum Center at Five Points Gift Shop, Project: Free2Fly and The Small Town Girl Boutique.

Tickets are $25, and only 500 will be sold. With a portion of ticket sales, Mainstreet Cleveland pays participating restaurants back a percentage to help cover the cost of their food. The remainder helps fund MainStreet Cleveland projects.

"Most years we sell out," says Marr. "Even with rain last year, we still sold 350 tickets. We will sell tickets until we are sold out."

Tickets may be purchased at Cafe Roma, Catch Bar & Grill and Bank of Cleveland's main office.

For more information: 423-479-1000 or www.mainstreetcleveland.com.

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