Taste of Downtown winners announced

For the 15th and last year, B'Sghetti's restaurant rolled out all the stops Saturday in support of Taste of Downtown, a fundraiser for Advocates to End Domestic Violence.

Participants returned the sentiment with a show of support and good-byes to the staff of the restaurant, which announced June 13 that it would be closing its doors at the end of the month.

They also gave B'Sghetti's the top vote for the "Best Atmosphere" award.

"B'Sghetti's was close second in 'Taste' and 'Overall,'" Lisa Lee, executive director of the Advocates, said in announcing the list of winners. "Many people wrote on their ballots that they were sorry to see the restaurant close, that it would be missed."

Thirty restaurants offered samples to supporters - all 2,000 tickets sold for the 18th annual event - plus more than 20 downtown shops participated with their own raffles and giveaways.

"It was a great evening, it was a wonderful atmposphere, it was warm, and it was great to see the streets alive," Lee said. "The food was some of the best we've ever had."

Scott Doer, owner of B'Sghetti's, was happy to participate in the event again.

"Basically, what B'Sghetti's wanted to do was definently partipate, even after the announcement of the closure," said B'Sghetti owner Scott Doer. "One of the things that put us on the map when we opened15 years ago was partipating in Taste of Downtown. For a restaurant that no one knew anything about, we showed the community what we could do. From that, it grew and grew and grew and we were able to showcase the restaurant.

"For a new up-and-coming place like Mo & Sluggo's, it's an outstanding marketing opportunity," Doer added.

"Also, and ultimately, it's an amazing charitable event. It goes to a great cause and we never lost sight of that."

Lee pointed out that Taste of Downtown is both an opportunity for restaurants to reach new clients, but for the community to support the local businesses.

"It's important that if we want our restaurants to stay in business, we need to support them," she said. "We lost seven restaurants from last year."