Jefferson City to host annual restaurant showcase Thursday night

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City will host its annual Downtown Dinner Dash on Thursday night in partnership with nine local restaurants and cafes.

Last year, the annual event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For $50 a ticket, individuals will receive one drink and one small plate item, according to a media release from the Downtown Association. Ticket holders travel to three different restaurants at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. to complete their dining experience.

The participating Jefferson City restaurants and cafes are:

• Barvino
• Bones In The Alley
• La Chica Loca
• Madison's Cafe
• REVEL catering & events
• Spectators
• Sweet Smoke BBQ - downtown
• The Grand Cafe
• Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar

"We did add the curbside option this year for people who maybe aren't comfortable eating in a restaurant yet," Downtown Association Vice President Natalie Newville said. "Big Whiskey's has graciously agreed to do some curbside options for us."

In an effort to include people who wish to support the event but prefer a different dining experience, Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar will be offering a curbside option. Ticket holders to Big Whiskey's will receive one appetizer, two entrees and a dessert.

Newville said ticket sales so far have mainly been for the in-person dining event on Thursday.

"I think that this is a great opportunity. Our businesses have been hurting this year and it's been a tough year for them," Newville said. "But yet they're still the ones that are supporting our non-profits, they're helping our kids schools and sports teams, and so this is just a really great way to support them because they support us so well."

Director of the Cole County Health Department, Kristi Campbell, said the department wasn't specifically consulted for this event but it has been working with the local restaurants and businesses to remind them of property safety precautions.

"We've been working with the restaurants and businesses here in Jefferson City and Cole County for some time," Campbell said. "They have precautions in place ... we've talked before about spacing and hand-washing and when masks are appropriate ... I feel like they know which precautions to take in preparation for the event."

Campbell believes with declining COVID-19 cases in Cole County and with the increase in vaccination rates, this is a great time to start bringing back events to give the public a better sense of normalcy.

"We're in a really good place, for quite a few weeks we've been in either a single-digit case count ... and the testing demand has decreased because less people are getting sick," Campbell said. "People need to practice precautions but it's time to lessen some of the restrictions, go ahead and get back to our normal activities."

Cole County has recorded about 45 new coronavirus cases so far this month -- an average of fewer than three new cases per day. Hospitals there have relaxed restrictions on visitors and closed their drive-thru coronavirus testing sites, citing the lower case numbers.

Nearly 23% of the county's population has received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, according to state numbers. Nearly 17,500 people have received their first doses.

The health department is also hoping to give out more than 2,000 doses at a mass clinic Friday. Campbell said about 1,000 slots for that clinic remained Thursday morning.

Newville said as of 11 a.m. Thursday around 60 tickets were sold for the event. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Ticket sales were set to close at noon.

Newville said ticket sales were slightly down from previous years.

"It's kind of to be expected considering there's a pandemic still going on," Newville said.

At 9 p.m., attendees are invited to the River City Florist for an after-party.