Participants sample pizza at Andrew Bellucci’s Pizzeria on 30th Avenue. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Jan. 31, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Over 100 people attended the first 30th Avenue Winter Food Crawl Thursday night, a Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) initiative designed to increase foot traffic and exposure to businesses along 30th Avenue in Astoria.
The food crawl, organized by QEDC Astoria project manager Victor Prado, is part of a new initiative to host food crawls throughout Astoria every quarter to boost foot traffic and exposure for small businesses along different thoroughfares in the neighborhood.
Thursday’s event, which was free to enter, featured small bites from eight different restaurants along 30th Avenue, including Emoji Burger, Ovelia, Fresco’s Cantina, Butcher Bar, Andrew Bellucci’s Pizzeria, Katch, Grand Wine & Liquor and 7th Street Burger, which offered free burgers and fries to all participants.
Participants received a diverse culinary experience throughout the event, sampling barbecue at Butcher Bar, traditional Greek food at Ovelia and Mexican flautas at Fresco’s.
Photo: Shane O’Brien
Prado, who launched the food crawl series with a dessert crawl on Ditmars Boulevard on Oct. 18, said he plans to host quarterly crawls across Astoria to boost local businesses. He also plans to host an Asian-themed Lunar New Year crawl in the coming weeks and is currently reaching out to Asian businesses in the neighborhood.
Prado launched the food crawl series after conducting a community district needs assessment survey, which assessed the strengths and weaknesses of small businesses in the neighborhood.
“People here do love their mom-and-pop shops, but there were a lot of challenges exposed, and there were three major ones,” Prado said, pointing to parking, marketing, and beautification.
Prado said he told businesses that there was little he could do about parking in New York City but added that he could provide assistance for the other two challenges. He said he is working with the city to help beautify Astoria street fronts and has set up the Astoria Store Fronts Instagram page, which provides free marketing to restaurants throughout the neighborhood.
The food crawl series is part of that marketing drive, providing “real-world” exposure for restaurants in the hope that it will convince them to return again in the future and spread the word about their favorite spots.
“The name of the game is exposure,” Prado said. “There’s a rule in the restaurant industry, which is, if you can have the customer come back two or three times, you will essentially have that customer for life.”
Prado pointed to other successful food crawls in the city, stating that the concept of a restaurant crawl introduces Astoria residents to new restaurants they may have never known about. It also shows residents exactly where certain restaurants are located, Prado said.
He added that it is important to support Astoria’s small businesses, especially at a slow time of the year, because they add unique character to the neighborhood.
“Small businesses alongside the residents are the two markets that make up a local area. Astoria is known for its mom and pops because it has a very heavily dense immigrant population.”
Ovelia co-owner Peter Giannakis described the Winter Food Crawl as a resounding success, stating that the event introduced Ovelia to people living in Astoria who may not have noticed the restaurant before.
“They’re here, they’re they came by, and they seem to enjoy it, and we hope they’ll come back and visit,” Giannakis said on Thursday night. “In fact, there are some people who had just moved into the neighborhood, and this was a great opportunity for them to explore.
“This was an absolute success… and we’re looking forward to the next one.”
Giannakis said he decided to take part in the event out of “Queens pride” and said Ovelia is always looking for new people who haven’t tried the restaurant before.
“We love our neighborhood. We love the people that are in our neighborhood, and we wanted to reach out to people that may not have been here before.”
Alex Scherber, manager of Grand Wine & Liquor, said the event will have a positive impact on local businesses.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Scherber said. I mean, just bringing people into the store to see what’s going on.”
Participants sample wine at Grand Wine & Liquor. Photo: Shane O’Brien
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