Story by Henna Khan

Video by Savannah Shealy

On Saturday Sept. 25, the Coppell Chamber of Commerce hosted their first annual Taste of Coppell event to give residents a feel for what delicacies our small, yet rapidly developing community has to offer.

From 6 to 8 p.m. at the newly built Coppell Senior and Community Center located at Grapevine Springs, 17 local eateries were given the opportunity to showcase some of their finest items on their menu to attendees. The Senior Center was the place to be Saturday evening where families found food, drinks, live music, and prizes all at one event.

“We have thought about having this kind of event for several years.  I have visited other communities and chambers that have similar events with great success,” Coppell Chamber of Commerce president Beverly Widner said. “We have such an outstanding and diverse group of restaurants in Coppell that we felt the time was right to introduce this annual event.”

According to Widner, the motive behind this event was to essentially bring awareness to the quality of the restaurants in Coppell.

Participating restaurants were Cherry on Top, Chicken Express, Daddy Jack’s Coppell, Frida’s Mexican Grill, Goodfish, Hard Eight BBQ, Healthy Me Café, J. Macklin’s Grill, Kasa Kolache Bakery & Café, Mua Sushi, Ole’s Tex-Mex, Rosa’s Café, Tortilla Factory, Sam’s Club, The Salad Bowl, Vinnie’s Italian Ristorante and Yucatan Beach Club.

While the chamber was looking to generate income and awareness for the city, restaurants had similar, yet different goals for the night.

“We’re thankful that we are getting the opportunity to showcase the best items we do, but more importantly, we are being able to just get our name out there,” J. Macklin’s Grill manager Todd Kerr said. “Through this event we can have people get a feel for the items on our new menu and further promote our name. We hope this turns out well for Coppell and brings in more traffic to the city.”

Members of the chamber had the first option to participate in “A Taste of Coppell”.  As vendor spaces were still available, they opened up participation to prospective member restaurants.  

“To be asked to participate in this first annual event is a tremendous compliment, and it makes us very proud,” Kerr said.

Aside from the food, there were door prizes and live entertainment from Coppell’s own Doc Gibbs. Residents from throughout the community came together to celebrate the growth of started out as a small suburb.

Pro Tem Mayor of Coppell, Bob Mahalik, and his wife attended the event, walking away seeing this as a promising tradition.

“I enjoy it very much as it gives me a chance to taste food from some restaurants in Coppell that I have not visited,” Mahalik said. “It made people more familiar with the food and drink options that Coppell provides before they go outside of the city to eat and drink.”

It is not known whether or not “Taste of Coppell” will be hosted in the years to come, but considering the turnout, it is expected.

“We hope to grow the event to more of a family festival atmosphere, and I think that we are off to a good start,” Widner said.