Inclement weather has caused Taste of Ellijay, the popular food-sampling event presented by the Gilmer Chamber, to be rescheduled a time or two. With pandemic restrictions on public gatherings still in place, for the first time in almost 15 years, there will be no physical Taste event around the downtown Ellijay square this year.
The event typically draws a festive crowd downtown the week before Memorial Day.
“It’s one of our biggest events and it’s really one of the locals’ favorites,” said Gilmer Chamber president Paige Green.
Because local restaurants and the food they offer are the main attraction of any Taste of Ellijay, the chamber is making an effort to showcase local restaurants this week.
“We’re trying to make the best of a bad situation and still use the week to highlight our restaurants as kind of a taste of our community,” Green said.
The first Taste of Ellijay Restaurant Week started Monday and will run through Sunday, May 24.
“We wanted to do something to show appreciation without adding anything on top for them. We didn’t want to ask them to do something, so we kind of reversed it this year with a restaurant appreciation week,” Green said. “Something we’ve talked about the last couple of years is expanding Taste of Ellijay and this may be a good year to bridge that event into something a little bit bigger like a restaurant week.”
During the special week, the chamber is offering restaurant-related posts and activities on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
“We will have a restaurant randomizer tool on Facebook and Instagram that will randomly choose a restaurant for you. We’re asking folks to go out and support our restaurants, snap a photo when they visit (one) and share it on Facebook using #TasteofEllijay,” Green said.
Glad to reopen
The last two weeks found some local restaurant owners reopening their dining areas for the first time since late March, while others continue to offer only drive-thru, takeout or delivery options.
“Restaurants are taking it at their own pace. Some have chosen to reopen and some will choose to reopen in the coming days. I think, over the week leading up to Memorial Day, we’re going to see more reopenings,” Green said.
Terrie Leyden is glad to finally have her North Main Street breakfast and lunch spot, Cornerstone Cafe, open back up after being completely closed for several weeks.
The first week back open was tough, with required adjustments like staff wearing masks and different spacing of tables to allow six-foot social distancing in place, Leyden noted.
“Because of my square footage, I could only fit 15 people in and trying to keep them separated was a little difficult. Since revisions have been made by the governor, I can seat 20 people inside now. Our first week was really slow, but we’ve seen a steady increase in business this week,” she added.
To accommodate more customers, Leyden has set up an outdoor dining area beside the cafe.
“The (people in) the building next to me, where the yoga studio is located, have graciously let me use the parking there. I have two tents set up with six tables,” she said. “People are choosing to sit out there, which has freed up my dining room quite a bit. I was able to spread my tables out instead of telling people exactly where they have to sit to keep six feet apart. Now, the tables are all spaced out so when people come in they can pick where they want to sit.”
Rolf Hensche, of Emily’s Bar and Restaurant, described some of the changes in place at his River Street establishment after reopening May 8.
“The biggest thing is the employees wearing masks. We’re doing very detailed cleaning and a sanitation program (is) in place. We reduced the table layout everywhere. We went down from (being able to seat) 160 people to about 60 now,” he said. “Every other table is used to keep six-feet distance. We added flower tops to the tables that need to remain empty to allow for the six-feet minimum. Bar chairs have (also) been removed to allow for six feet between.”
Hensche said Emily’s had a good first week back open in which many guests chose to dine in, but he will continue with delivery and takeout services.
“We will offer those options if somebody does not feel comfortable (dining in),” he added.
Last year was Hensche’s first time participating in the Taste of Ellijay, which he noted was a good way to promote the new restaurant that opened last summer.
“There’s a very similar concept where I came from in Miami, (called) Miami Spice with a lot of restaurants participating and having special menus,” he said.
Leyden said she’s happy to see customers coming back into the Cornerstone and noted she’s also been a customer of other recently reopened downtown restaurants.
“Our customers have really missed the place. They’ve been unbelievably supportive,” she added. “I went to River Street Tavern when they first opened and to Emily’s the other day when they first opened. We’re all trying to support each other.”
Proceeding with caution
The Gilmer Chamber also had to cancel another big spring event, the Apple Blossom Festival, which would’ve been held May 4-5.
Green said that festival might still take place later this year.
“We’re still moving forward in trying to reschedule Apple Blossom to maybe late summer or early fall. That’s going to depend on vendor availability and where the guidelines are at that time,” she added.
As for the biggest annual event in the county, the chamber co-sponsored Georgia Apple Festival, Green said plans are being made with caution.
“We’re planning as if it’s going on. We are proceeding and hoping that, by the fall, we will have returned to some kind of normalcy, but we will take into account any changes we have to make,” she noted.