ARTICLE
The 11th Annual Blues, Brews & Barbecue in downtown Allentown brought thousands of music and food lovin' participants Cork & Cage in Allentown was on the outside looking in during last year’s Blues, Brews & Barbecue event, then held on Hamilton Street between Sixth and Ninth streets. Sure, people still filtered in and out of the bottle shop at 538 Hamilton St., but there was no seating to keep them on the 500 block. This year’s event, held Saturday, was different. The 11th rendition of perhaps Allentown’s tastiest and most thirst-quenching example of alliteration finally extended to the 500 block, providing more room for a festival that just keeps growing. For the restaurants, retailers and vendors on the block, it offered an opportunity for exposure, a chance to capitalize on a day of heavy foot traffic in a city in the midst of revitalization. “This, for us on Hamilton Street, is our Super Bowl,” said Cork & Cage manager Faraz Afshar, as he smoked a cigar. The day didn’t disappoint. As of 2:30 p.m. — just 2 ½ hours into the 10-hour event — the crowd had significantly thickened. Miriam Huertas, senior vice president of Allentown Initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the festival through its Hamilton District Main Street program, expected the crowd to meet or exceed last year’s estimated 25,000. It was a day for blues to be heard, brews to be served, and barbecue to be devoured. The slow-cooking meat created a delicious fog of smokiness on Hamilton Street, especially between One City Center and the Wells Fargo building. The 500 block, meanwhile, was dubbed the “veggie block.” There, one of the options was Heavenly Hot Dogs, a Sellersville-based operation serving vegan food, including barbecue made from jackfruit, out of its 16 ½-foot trailer. The owners of the 4-year-old company, which travels from festival to festival, from Bethlehem’s VegFest to ones in Lancaster, were impressed by the Allentown event and hopes to come back next year. “I think it’s laid out very well,” said Steve Roehrer, who owns Heavenly Hot Dogs with his wife, Sandi. Mo Taylor, co-owner of Cork & Cage and Grain on the 500 block, would agree. When Grain opened in 2015, Taylor said he and his business partners knew they were coming to downtown Allentown a little early. They expected a bump in foot traffic three or four years down the road and now, Taylor said, that’s exactly what’s happening. Events like Blues, Brews & Barbecue continue the momentum, giving people a chance to experience what downtown has to offer, he said. “For me, this is exposure,” Taylor said. He noted how many people he overheard Saturday say, “That’s where Grain is.” “There’s a lot of people out there we still need to reach,” Taylor said. The message hit Ron Labetich — really by accident. Labetich, of Los Altos, Calif., was in Allentown on Saturday for his wife’s 50th anniversary of graduating from nursing school. He came out of the Renaissance Allentown Hotel to find himself in the middle of the festival. He’s visited Allentown before with his wife, Marilyn, though the city didn’t look quite this way the last time they made the trip. “They got a real good vision here,” said Labetich, as he bought a shirt from Assembly88 in the 500 block. “I think it’s pretty impressive.” For retailers, such as Assembly88, and restaurants, such as Grain, the event gave them a chance to grab eyeballs and make an impression that could bring people back — even on nonevent days. It also got them thinking: Where should Blues, Brews & Barbecue expand next? Huertas, even before the festival ended Saturday, was already thinking the same thing. “I’d like to go in the ArtsWalk,” she said. “It’s a natural gathering place.” Read the original article here.