Summary
Daytona Foodies
A year later, we have grown that community to over 20,000 foodies! It has become a wealth of beautiful photos and perfectly written reviews of our favorite restaurants and has exposed so many hidden gems. So many silver linings have come from this group, and it is single-handedly the best thing that has happened for me since 2020. Dining Dashers is one of the products of the Foodie Group. It's an event in which we take about 25-50 foodies to local restaurants about 3-4 times a month. Most attendees are first timers at each restaurant, and it has been a great way to introduce restaurateurs and their stories to new groups as they put their best foot forward. Every meal has been a blast, and it has been so rewarding to watch complete strangers become friends over delicious food that brings us so much joy. The accomplishment that I am most proud of is our story with Taco Bell Joe! Joe has become a local celebrity, simply from his smiling face and how he calls everyone “friend” - and genuinely means it. We held a “Favorite food service worker” contest and he was our very first nomination. What started out as a $50 cash prize turned into a community coming together to present Taco Bell Joe with a holiday bonus from his “friends” for $6100. Taco Bell Joe’s story made national news, and warmed all of hearts when we needed it most. The most recent result of the Foodie Page was to address a lack of staff with another Facebook group, Restaurant Job Connection (Volusia County). Many great restaurants have been connected to hard working employees since the group has started. Our community is working together to create solutions for our small businesses and to make this an even better place to live.
By Tricia Phillippi
Just last year, I was witness to many of my restaurant customers facing one challenge after the next, with the uncertainty of the pandemic. To top it all off, they were receiving negative reviews since it was impossible to be consistent in that climate. I felt helpless. I remember watching the emotional video of Chris Chibbaro from Millie’s informing customers that they would be closing and uncertain if they would ever reopen, and it broke me down to tears. Meet Tricia: Founder of Daytona Foodies, Port Orange Resident, and Payroll Manager for many local restaurants.
I felt inspired to do something.
I belonged to a few foodie groups already and I thought to myself, W ouldn’t it be refreshing for our community and for our local restaurant owners to have a platform for diners to share great experiences at our local eateries? We were all being impacted by this pandemic, divided in so many ways, but the one thing that can still bring us together is food. I wanted to be a bit different than most foodie pages out there. Our focus would promote our GREAT experiences we all have while dining around town. We all know every dining experience isn’t perfect every time, but why focus on the bad? Weren’t we all dealing with enough negativity? I had to focus on positivity - True, honest reviews, about the wonderful experiences diners had at our local eateries.
To see our community wrap their arms around an industry that could not catch a break has been a bright light in all of the chaos.
Follow Tricia & join in the Foodie Fun here:
Foodie Reviews of Daytona, Port Orange, Ormond, Ponce Inlet, NSB & DeLand!
The Local Dish with Raj and Trish
@rajtrish386
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