DETROIT (WXYZ) — The summer festival circuit is in full swing in metro Detroit with the return of the Taste of Ann Arbor, a food festival featuring more than 24 local restaurants and vendors.
Held on Main Street, stretching from William to Washington streets, Taste of Ann Arbor returns in person today for the first time since 2019, when the event drew crowds of nearly 20,000 people.
7 Action News reporter Jenn Schanz visited downtown Ann Arbor today to to see how events like these are working to bounce back after a two-year hiatus amid the worker shortage and the nation’s surge in gas prices.
“We have probably 10 fewer restaurants and that’s purely staffing,” Sandra Andrade, executive director, Main Street Area Association, said about festival being “scaled down” this year as many restaurants do not have enough people to run food tents and normal operations.
Joseph Ludwick with Real Seafood Co., one of the festivals’ participating restaurants, says he remains optimistic about the festivals’ turnout and believes their famous paella will draw big numbers, as it has in the past.
“We get people from Jackson, Bay City, Grand Rapids, people who like to see what’s going on in Ann Arbor.”
Even as gas prices in Michigan top the national average at more than five dollars a gallon, many festival attendees still see the return of the festival as a welcome treat.
Festival first timer, Nate Moynihan, who drove from Toledo to enjoy the diverse array of food available at the event, but admitted gas prices were definitely a factor when making the trip.
The prices, he says, are “too much if you ask me.”
Taste of Ann Arbor
Sunday, June 5, 2022
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Main Street, from William to Washington streets in Ann Arbor.
