More than 1,000 people braved the wind and rain for the biggest ever Taste of Sunnyside Sunday afternoon, which saw 67 local establishments provide their best bites and sips during the popular neighborhood restaurant crawl.
Celebrating its 15th year, Taste of Sunnyside once again transformed the neighborhood into a vibrant hub of food, drinks and community celebration despite the steady stream of rain that signaled the onset of the powerful nor’easter storm currently impacting the Northeast.
The weather did not put off throngs of attendees from flocking to each restaurant on the 2025 route, with lines forming outside most, if not all, of the participating restaurants throughout the afternoon on Sunday.
Many participating businesses adapted to the damp conditions by bringing their stalls inside and allowing attendees to remain momentarily dry as they enjoyed their bites and their brews underneath awnings and tents.
The Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID), which organized the event, also provided each of the 1,200-strong crowd with ponchos to help combat the wet weather.
The event still featured all of the festivities that have made Taste of Sunnyside a neighborhood staple over the past 15 years, including a block party underneath the elevated subway lines at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 46th Street and roaming performances by groups of musicians. Meanwhile, the CitySoul Bus also provided mobile DJ setlists throughout the neighborhood on Sunday afternoon.
The popular restaurant crawl aims to promote Sunnyside as a culinary destination by showcasing the diverse restaurant mix in the neighborhood. Attendees go door-to-door to sample food and drinks from participating businesses, which set up stands in front of their establishments to allow ticketholders to sample their cuisine.
Sunday’s event featured a record-breaking 67 participating businesses, surpassing the previous record of 65 participants set in 2024.
Taste of Sunnyside was changed to a crawl format in 2021 due to safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The event had previously taken place in a single location, with local restaurants setting up stalls underneath the elevated subway tracks along Queens Boulevard.
A number of participating businesses extolled the benefits of the format change during the 2025 event, stating that the current format allows attendees to better engage with participating businesses.
Michelle Murphy, co-owner of neighborhood sports bar and long-time Taste of Sunnyside participant Bar 43, said the current format allows ticketholders to actually see where a business is located, making it easier for people to return to a particular restaurant or bar in the future.
The current format also provides visitors with a sample of the atmosphere they can expect at each business, Murphy added.
“It’s just a better experience for everybody,” Murphy said. “They’re getting the experience they would get when they visit a restaurant.”
Murphy and Bar 43 staff opted to bring their stall inside on Sunday to offer ticketholders some shelter during persistent rain throughout the afternoon, but she does not believe that the weather had any impact on attendance numbers.
“So many people came in and said it doesn’t about the rain… They’re having a good time and that’s what matters to people,” Murphy said. “It’s a community event and I see the same faces coming back every year.”
Carrie Longo, owner of Brookside Market on Queens Boulevard, similarly believes that the weather did not deter foodies from coming out for the popular event. She said she also expected the weather to be worse on Sunday and praised the awning covering the Brookside Market stall outside the restaurant.
“We got pretty lucky. We thought it was going to be downpouring,” Longo said. It’s not so bad, people are still out enjoying it.”
Longo also believes that the current Taste of Sunnyside format is “much better” and gives restaurants a better opportunity to show “what we offer.”
For first-time participants and new businesses, Taste of Sunnyside offers an opportunity to make an impression on the neighborhood and meet new potential customers.
Sheila Connolly, who opened the Sconery at 39-39 47th Ave. in August, said many residents had “no idea” that the store existed before Sunday’s event.
“The neighborhood has been great and that’s where most of our customers have been coming from,” Connolly said. “But there’s still people who don’t know we’re here.”
Connolly started the Sconery at farmer’s markets before opening her first brick-and-mortar location in August and said she was thus well accustomed to operating a stand in the rain. Consequently, Sunday’s persistent rain didn’t dampen her spirits, Connolly said.
John Chowdhury, who co-owns Cafe Bliss and Organic Juice Bar along with his wife Sheila Dey, said he has been operating in the neighborhood for seven years but decided to join Taste of Sunnyside for the first time this year because it was an opportunity to meet new customers.
“I don’t spend much money on advertising or anything,” Chowdhury said Sunday.
Chowdhury, who served Royal Berry Sensation Smoothies on Sunday, said he will be participating in future Taste of Sunnyside events after a successful debut.
Mirsad Kraja, who co-owns SoleLuna, Sotto Le Stelle and the Arcobaleno bakery and gelato shop, is a long-time Taste of Sunnyside participant and said the event is an opportunity for the three locations to “give back” to the local community.
“It’s a good way to give back to everybody who supports the businesses throughout the whole year,” Kraja said.
Attendees also described Sunday’s Taste of Sunnyside as an exemplary community event that offered them an opportunity to find new local favorites and meet the faces behind the food throughout the neighborhood.
Kevin Han, who has moved to Sunnyside within the past 12 months, said he had heard “good things” about food in the neighborhood and added that Sunday’s event was an opportunity to explore the diverse culinary options that Sunnyside has to offer.
Han said a peanut soup from Bolivian Llama Party was his standout dish from the event and said the crawl has helped him discover restaurants that he was walked by without even noticing.
“I walk around here all the time,” Han said. “But because of this, I’m able to actually notice stores or restaurants I haven’t seen.”
Andres and Brenda, a couple that has recently moved to Jackson Heights from Sunnyside, said they returned to the neighborhood for the restaurant crawl because it was an opportunity to find new favorites outside of their regular haunts.
They said their favorite offerings from 2025 Taste included Indian staple Cardamom and popular Nepalese joint Bajeko Sekuwa.
