Savor the Avenue in Delray Beach serves 1015 guests on the famed Atlantic Avenue even in the rain!
Over 1000 area residents and visitors dined under the cloudy spring sky on Downtown Delray’s famed East Atlantic Avenue on Thursday, March 27, 2014.
The Delray Beach culinary tradition, continued on Thursday, March 27, 2014 on East Atlantic Avenue and this year benefited the Delray Beach Shore Beautification Project to help support a local project. The event was made possible by the Delray Beach Magazine’s partnership with the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA), along with 16 of Downtown Delray’s amazing restaurants.
This production began at 2 p.m. with the street closure process, quickly followed by many volunteers, as the street was closed on Atlantic Avenue and filled with volunteers, DDA staff, the event has grown over the years to be one of the premier dining events in the area, and even the country. ‘We are proud to have been a part of this very special and unique event for the past six years as a way to share with the local and tourist community this incredible dining experience,” expresses Marjorie Ferrer, Executive Director, DDA.
Each year, the Delray Beach DDA, Delray Beach & Boca Magazine, and the many restaurants strive to improve the quality of the event as well as enhance the experience for the attendees. This experience focuses on the details, as seen by adding the table décor contest and the lining of the dining table with the 12 ft palms sponsored by Delray Garden Center. “By adding the trees, it was a simple and beautiful way to make this large scaled event more intimate as well as involve other businesses in the community,” says Laura Simon, Associate Director of the Delray DDA. The dining table will be approximately 1,300 feet long, stretching from Swinton Avenue east to Fifth Avenue (U.S. 1) each section of the table is decorated beautifully by the participating restaurant as they compete for the Silver Plate Award.
Not only is Savor a premier dining event but in 2013 it became an artist pallet. Patricia, “Pati” Maguire, Delray Beach resident and business owner, attended the event with friends and ended up creating a beautiful piece of artwork that will be showcased at this year’s event and raffled off to benefit the Beach Beautification Project. In addition, a commemorative poster of the event has been made this year and will be on sale at the event, also benefiting the Beach Project.
"I feel fortunate to live and work in Delray Beach! This place has the heart of a small town and the amenities of a big city. A prime example is Savor The Avenue. Last year, prior to the event, I walked around, admiring the beautiful decorations, sketching the waiters setting up, the scenery, and the people milling around. Once our table filled, I also took some photographs. The idea for my painting shaped up. It was a magical evening, and I feel I captured the essence of the feast on the canvas. Where else can you dine with such sophistication, in a perfect outdoor setting, and meet about two hundred of your closest friends just walking down the street? It's magical,” expresses Patricia Maguire.
The DDA is also proud to announce that a portion of the proceeds from Savor the Avenue will be donated to the Delray Beach Shore Beautification project. The project is underway with the construction of the new Beach
Pavilion but there is still more to complete. “This project began almost six years ago as a joint effort with the City of Delray Beach and the Community to come together to enhance the beauty of our award winning stretch of coast,” says Marjorie Ferrer. “We are proud that Savor the Avenue and the Restaurants are able to support a portion of this amazing project.”
This year ‘s participating restaurants are: 32 East, 50 Ocean, Cabana el Rey, Caffe Luna Rosa, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, Cut 432, Lemongrass, Prime, Rack’s Fish House & Oyster Bar, Salt 7, Solita Delray, Sundy House, Taverna Opa, The Office, Tryst, and Vic & Angelo’s. Each dinner is paired with select wines that are donated by local beverage distributors to each restaurant. The menus can be viewed at bocamag.com/savor andwww.downtowndelraybeach.com/savor-and-tastemakers reservations are made with the restaurant directly.
“The biggest benefit for us is being able to offer our guests a unique and fun experience, be a part of a very cool event, give back to the city and have a profitable night for our restaurant as well,” shares Bonnie Beer, managing partner of Caffe Luna Rosa.
About the Downtown Development Authority: For the past 43 years, the Downtown Development Authority has assisted in successfully branding Delray Beach as the Village by the Sea. The Delray Beach DDA was created by Resolution 9-71, which became law on March 22, 1971, as a dependent district of the City of Delray Beach.
“The DDA Mission is to enhance and stimulate balanced economic growth through position marketing activities that engage Downtown businesses, residents and visitors while creating a clean, safe, physical and experiential place to live, work and invest.”
The main areas of involvement in downtown redevelopment include: Marketing and Promotions; Economic development programs; Place Making within the DDA boundaries. The DDA also works closely with merchants to develop seasonal retail awareness campaigns to generate traffic sales and has created a powerful websitewww.downtowndelraybeach.com and Facebook site that attracts thousands of visits weekly.
About JES Publishing: JES Publishing publishes the award-winning Boca Raton and Delray Beach magazines, bocamag.com, and several custom publications. This family of magazines has long set the standard for magazine publishing in the state of Florida and has been recognized numerous times by the Florida Magazine Association as best in its class for consumer publications. For information on subscriptions or advertising, please call (561) 997-8683.
For Information Contact:
Laura Simon, Associate Director
Downtown Development Authority
(561) 243-1077 or (561) 573-3672
lsimon@downtowndelraybeach.com
