Limon, Local Bites
Mayor Swearengin calls Local Bites a “tasty way to revitalize our economy.”
My dates for the evening were Ryne, left, and Ben.
Ben, Ryne and I dined at Limon last night in support of Local Bites. The Local Bites Initiative was created by Fresno mayor Ashley Swearengin and Taste Fresno in an effort to encourage residents to eat at a locally owned restaurant at least once a month. Mayor Swearengin and Taste Fresno, once a month, invite Fresnans to eat with the mayor at a chosen restaurant in Fresno. Last month, DiCicco’s hosted the launch of Local Bites. I had the opportunity last night to go to Limon, a Peruvian restaurant located near Hooters in the Villaggio Shopping Center across from River Park.
LOCAL BITES IS A BOOST TO THE ECONOMY
Limon was packed with supportive Fresnans.
Local Bites is a very exciting thing because of the economic impact it promises. Taste Fresno provided my table with a handout spelling out the tremendous impact Local Bites will have on our local economy:
If every Fresno consumer shifted just 10% of their spending to local businesses for one year, over 2,000 new jobs could be created in Fresno, and over $200 million in increased economic activity would be generated! Local Bites is meant to encourage our entire community to make that 10% shift.
I MET THE MAYOR!
Eating at Limon not only gave me the chance to try mouth-watering food, but I was able to talk to the mayor and a few local bloggers I admire. Mayor Swearengin made sure to talk to every table of diners at the event. Thank you a thousand times to James Collier of Taste Fresno for making sure she stopped by our table before we left.
This was me trying to keep my cool before talking to the mayor.
Surprisingly, it was very easy to talk to the mayor. She is great at starting a conversation and was curious about my background in Fresno and what I blog about. Being the great interviewer I am, I forgot to ask her questions about her involvement with Local Bites.
I strongly urge you to attend Local Bites next month so you can have the wonderful opportunity to meet the mayor while supporting the local economy.
COMING UP
Local Bites wants to introduce you to diverse restaurants in Fresno. There are two more scheduled events you can attend:
Javier’s - Tuesday August 16, 5:30 p.m. Javier’s is an inexpensive mexican restaurant James considers a staple in Fresno.
Wassabi - Tuesday September 20, 5:30 p.m. Wassabi is relatively pricey and serves sushi and other Japanese food.
IN THE MEANTIME…
Taste Fresno has a very active blog you can check out. Read commentaries by Fresnans on everything food. You can also “like” Taste Fresno on Facebook or follow on Twitter for regular updates on Local Bites.
Read about Boogie’s experience at Limon on The Boogie Blog. He took several photos of the appetizing food at Limon.
Here are some of the people I mentioned earlier:
Me with Bekah, left, and Alisa of Taste Fresno.
I got to meet David Scheidt aka The Cured Ham. It's lovely to put a face and name to a picture of a pig's rear.
Ryne Santos was telling me about his podcast idea. He plans to call it Ryne Verses Fresno --- pun intended.
Have a lovely day in Fresno!
Veronica Stumpf
Veronica - thank you so much for attending Local Bites and sharing your experience on your blog! It’s so fun seeing Fresno through your eyes. I look forward to many more posts from you, and I’ll see you next month at Javier’s!
Thank you, Alisa! I’ve enjoyed meeting you. With your help, I’m more in the loop about the happenings in Fresno.
I’ll be seeing you next month at Javier’s!
thank you for the shout out!!! love this blog! …and i used to work with your friend Ben at Lifetouch!
No problem! i enjoyed looking at your post.
What a coincidence! Goodness, Fresno is definitely a small place. Well, I hope to meet you at Javier’s.