Emporia Main Street’s The Taste returned to the community calendar Saturday night after two years off due to COVID-19, and it’s safe to say people were more than ready for the event.
The Taste sold out, filling the White Auditorium floor with people and with vendors both longstanding and brand new to the event. Emporia’s Trolley House Distillery was participating for the first time, and owner Josh Williams is looking forward to seeing a positive impact for his business well after The Taste.
On the other side was Emporia’s Radius Brewing, which has been involved since 2013 — a year before it officially opened to the public. Co-owner Justin Bays says The Taste is one of the big events that has others across the state talking about Emporia.
Nearly 25 establishments from across the eastern half of Kansas were involved. Main Street Community Development Coordinator Jessica Buchholz was pleased to see the vendor interest continue at a high level, even with the event itself not taking place the last two years.
The Taste follows the Show of Hands business pitch competition held Thursday night and precedes Main Street’s involvement in the Dynamic Discs Open block party, Cinco de Mayo and Unbound Gravel celebrations between the end of April and early June.
