Delaware’s Department of Tourism is hoping to capitalize on the success of some of the state’s top food establishments.
Tourism officials launched the Delaware Culinary Trail Tuesday at Harry’s Savoy Grill in North Wilmington.
The trail features 24 uniquely Delaware restaurants spread across the state’s three counties. Like the previous tourism trails, the Culinary Trail is interactive. Restaurant goers can download a "passport" from the Tourism Department's website to collect codes from each of the Culinary Trail restaurants they visit. Once a person has codes from at least five of the restaurants in each county they are eligible to receive a First State themed cookbook.
Delaware Director of Tourism Linda Parkowski says choosing which restaurants to include was most difficult part of developing the trail.
“We had to make a bucket list - 10 of the iconic restaurants in each county. And they had to be visitor friendly. And then we all scored them independently and put the scores together and came up with the 24,” said Parkowski.
The state already has trails featuring the state’s history, wine and beer and geocaching, but Delaware Economic Development Office director Alan Levin believes the Culinary Trail may top them all.
“Everybody has to eat. And everybody will find something in here that they like. [The other trails] have been successful because they appeal to different groups. This appeals to everyone, and that’s why I think this one will hit it right out of the park," said Levin.
Delaware restaurants are big business in the state. The National Restaurant Association estimates First State restaurants did about $1.6 billion in sales in 2012, which represents the majority of revenue from tourism in the state.
