By Naeisha Rose
Jamaica’s 3rd Annual International Restaurant Crawl will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 22.
Foodies can make their first stop at Puerto Plata, a Dominican restaurant, located at 149-17 Jamaica Ave.
Next, at 6 p.m., is Sangria, a Portuguese-themed eatery at 95-41 Sutphin Boulevard.
The final restaurant, O’Lavrador, is the newbie on the list. At 138-40 101st Ave., it’s available for the crawl at 7 p.m..
Diners looking to save money you can get advance tickets for the event for $25. General admission for the crawl is $30.
Glenn Greenidge, the executive director of Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District, came up with the idea after going to a fund-raiser.
The BID is a nonprofit that represents interests of businesses and properties along Sutphin Boulevard between Hillside Avenue and 94th Avenue.
“Well, if I tell the truth, I actually stole it from a Leukemia and Lymphoma fund-raiser where they had a bar crawl,” Greenidge said. “I said ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be great to do that for restaurants to help promote the ones in your area?’ ”
After appropriating the idea for a good cause, he pitched it to the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Community Board 12’s Economic Development Committee, the 165th Street Mall Improvement Association and Jamaica Center BID.
“Everybody thought it was a great idea to promote restaurants in the downtown Jamaica area,” Greenidge said. “It becomes threefold: You are letting people know what the restaurants are in the area, you are giving them a sampling of each of them, and you are also promoting that local area.”
When selecting the restaurants, Greenidge says he looks for “size, venue, and walkability.”
“We are hoping to do it twice a year. The last two years have been very successful and we believe this year will be successful, too.”
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
