Savor Staunton encourages tourists to try city's menus

Savor Staunton, the city’s newest tourism effort, encourages visitors to do just that in the city’s restaurant scene.

Those behind the initiative, which kicked off March 15, say they sought a new way to promote the city and attract tourists.

"I noticed we were receiving more and more compliments from visitors on our restaurants," Staunton Tourism Director Sheryl Wagner said.

She responded by seeking a grant of slightly less than $5,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

The city used the grant and matching funds to hire Moore Public Relations LLC, place ads with publications such as Virginia Living and The Washington Post and launch a Web site, www.savorstaunton.com, promoting what Staunton has to offer in the way of culinary tourism.

"We have high hopes for this," Wagner said. "It’s a good message for Staunton and we’ve gotten a great response so far."

In addition to locally owned restaurants, Savor Staunton highlights restaurants with locally sourced menus, such as Zynodoa, Mockingbird and Cranberry’s Grocery and Eatery.

"We’ve been adding more locally sourced foods because of the current trend and because we’re in such a perfect location to do that," said Kathleen Stinehart, owner of Cranberry’s, an organic and natural restaurant, grocer and apothecary.

Cranberry’s offers Wade’s Mill flours and mixes, Blue Ridge Baby Cheesecakes and a variety of foods from Polyface, Inc.

"A lot of people come here because they hear about Polyface eggs, so they pop in here and get to taste that," Stinehart said. "I’m pumped about that and the tourism trend in general. Staunton has more independent restaurants, so most everything being promoted is something people haven’t already experienced. A lot of people travel for their taste buds."

Eileen O’Rourke, chairwoman of Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.’s promotions committee and co-owner of River City Art and Wine, said she’s impressed by the initiative.

"I think any city that comes up with brand new ideas to enhance tourism is fantastic," she said. "There are a lot of wonderful restaurants in Staunton, so it’s a nice base to be able to come up with an idea like that. I’m sure they’ll have success with it."

O’Rourke said she believes Waynesboro might be poised to develop an initiative similar to Savor Staunton in the distant future.

"I think the city of Waynesboro should focus in a different direction, on the crossroads of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive," she said. "It’s not Waynesboro’s forte right now, but it’s something I see developing here eventually, especially with the downtown rehabilitation efforts. It will be nice to see an area like Beverly Street and other areas of Staunton with a lot of nice little restaurants. It’s going to take more time and work."

Today, the seedlings of a culinary scene like Staunton’s are visible in local Waynesboro restaurants such as South River Grill & Wine Shop, Chickpeas and Stone Soup Books.

“We have local producers we get food from all year round,” Laura Cash of Stone Soup Books said Saturday at the Meet the Growers event, which allowed patrons to taste dishes made with locally sourced foods and meet the farmers who produced the ingredients.

“(Local foods) are so delicious,” Cash said. “Once you’ve had a fresh potato from JMD Farm, all other potatoes pale in comparison.”

Besides adding flavor, Cash said buying locally inspires her to whip up creative new dishes.

“When you get 40 pounds of beets, you’re going to use beets in unique ways,” she said.