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South Jordan Journal

First Taste of South Jordan Provides Good Eats for All

Nov 06, 2015 10:57AM ● By Aimee L Cook

By Aimee L. Cook

A year ago Brian Preece, South Jordan’s director of commerce presented the city’s chamber of commerce board with an idea to provide a venue to showcase some of the great places to eat around the city: a Taste of South Jordan. 

“The chamber board agreed that it would fit in nicely with our chamber objectives and I was selected to the chair the committee with Brian Synan, manager at Gordmans, acting as the vice-chair,” Hugh Washburn, owner of Elements Massage, said. 

“We wanted it to be a family-friendly event with fun activities for both children and adults.  We planned a kid’s zone, music, comedians, dance groups and a relaxation station with chair massage – that’s where my company, Elements Massage came in. I first reached out to some of the major food providers in the area and from that we teamed with Sysco Foods and they became our title sponsor. Together, we put together a committee comprised of local restaurant managers—Culver’s, Market Street Grill and Sagewood— along with other sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Munchkin Radio and of course, the city of South Jordan.”

 The organizers did their research to come up with a structure that would benefit both the patrons and the restaurants. They always wanted to give back, so they partnered with the Jordan Education Foundations Principal Pantry and shared a portion of the proceeds. 

“The tickets were one dollar each and the restaurant booths had a one, two and three ticket food items for purchase,” Brooke Smith, executive assistant for South Jordan City said. “For example, the Market Street Grill did one ticket for a chocolate-covered strawberry, two tickets for their delicious clam chowder with a roll and three tickets for bay shrimp and cocktail sauce. The people who came definitely got their monies worth in sampling great food at a discount price and the restaurants got great exposure to the public who may not know who they are or where they are located.”

The event was held at Heritage Park in South Jordan. Restaurants that participated were: Porch, Culver’s, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Swirly Girls Gourmet Bakery, Sagewood at Daybreak, Sam’s Club and Market Street Grill & Oyster Bar.  Others were slated to participate but had to drop out for various reasons. 

“As a committee member for the inaugural event we wanted to get as many restaurants involved as possible,” Chris Buhler, general manager for Market Street Grill & Oyster Bar-South Jordan, said. “We wanted to give the community a chance to taste some of what South Jordan has to offer. The restaurants that participated highlighted the quality that many may have not known about prior to the Taste. The people that came out were really happy with the setup and most importantly the food. Market Street wanted to be involved to showcase our wonderful food and make folks aware that we have been a vibrant member of the South Jordan community and will continue to be for a very long time. Can’t wait for next year.”

Although it rained the night of the event, people and families came out to try what was offered and enjoy the entertainment. Patrons also voted on their favorites in the following categories: Best Bite - Sagewood at Daybreak; Best Overall - Market Street Grill and Best Dessert - Culver’s.