EAT LOCAL IN NIAGARA FALLS WITH FOOD PASSPORT

Looking for new restaurants and cafés to visit this summer? The Niagara Falls Downtown BIA has a list of 11 places for people to check out and get food, with the chance to win prizes for supporting small businesses.

"We have such big diversity in the cuisine they offer and there are a lot of hidden gems down here. We're hoping that with this passport it'll encourage people to try something new and maybe find a new favourite restaurant," said Jules Fazio, marketing manager at the Niagara Falls Downtown BIA.

Each eat local passport comes with six spaces for stickers. Every trip taken to a participating business gives people the opportunity to earn a sticker. Once all six stickers have been filled in from different businesses, the passport can be dropped off in a ballot box.

Once the passport program closes on Sept. 8, a drawing will be held. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 in gift cards to local businesses.

This is the second year that the eat local passport program has happened. The program is designed to be inclusive to tourists and locals alike, featuring businesses that cover almost all dietary restrictions, from glutenfree food to halal food.

"We would love to encourage Niagara residents to eat local and support local. That's why we called it the eat local passport," she said. "But we'd also love for tourists to see that there are plenty of restaurants outside of the Clifton Hill district that they can also go to that have great choices."

Third Space Cafe is one location that has chosen to participate in the program this summer. The café's executive director, Lisa Vanderklippe, says they're excited to join in again this year, welcoming patrons from all over to the area.

"We really like the opportunity to kind of highlight some of the other businesses on the street and promote each other. It's really nice to be able to talk about

some of the other places people can go and share the passports," said Vanderklippe.

She says one of her favourite local restaurants being featured in the passport is Bake. Frost. Repeat. However, if people want to start their passport at the Third Space Cafe, Vanderklippe recommends a chai latte, which features a chai syrup made fresh from scratch at the café.

The eat local passport program began on June 6 and will run until Sept. 8. Anyone who wants to participate can pick up a passport book at any of the participating businesses to get started.

Other businesses participating include Crazy Macaws Coffee Bar, Flavors & Spices, Grand Central Bar & Grill, Moodie's Bakery, Paris Crepes Cafe, Plush Imperial, Queen Bean Café, Ronnie Don's Ice Cream, and Taps Brewhouse.

"We want everyone to know that by doing this, they're supporting local and supporting small businesses, which we think is really important," noted Fazio. "And there's the added incentive of a prize."

More information about the program and businesses in downtown Niagara Falls can be found online at downtownniagarafalls.com.