Restaurant owners, community members and Sunnyside Shines staff gather at QBK Sports for the launch of Taste of Sunnyside. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Oct. 11, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
The Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID) held a launch event for Taste of Sunnyside on Thursday evening, bringing together business owners and community members who will be participating in Sunday’s highly anticipated restaurant crawl.
Thursday’s launch event took place at QBK Sports at 41-20 39th St. and featured several restaurants that will take part in the annual event for the first time.
The upcoming food crawl features more than 60 local restaurants and pubs, with 20 establishments participating in the event for the first time.
Sunnyside Shines has sold 1,200 tickets for the upcoming food crawl, making it by far the biggest event in Taste of Sunnyside’s 14-year history. Last year, capacity was limited to 900 tickets, with around 40 local businesses participating.
The event will run from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday, featuring live music, family-friendly activities and an exhibition showcasing local artists.
A number of restaurant owners who have opened businesses in Sunnyside in the last 12 months looked forward to their first Taste of Sunnyside as an opportunity to establish themselves in the neighborhood.
The event was changed to a crawl format in 2021 due to safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, with ticket holders now visiting stands erected outside participating establishments.
Alvaro Lopez and Javier Alvarado, who opened Korean gastropub Seoul Bystro at 43-10 Queens Blvd. at the beginning of the summer, said Taste of Sunnyside was a chance to put their new restaurant on the map.
“We’re very excited,” Lopez said. “We’re very community-oriented. We love getting involved in the local community.
“We want the community to know that we are there for them. Stop by, we’ve got affordable prices all round.”
Gigi Akillinar, the owner of health food eatery GoodStuff Eats located at CloudKitchens at 40-05 Skillman Ave., will also be taking part in her first Taste of Sunnyside event this Sunday and said she is hoping that word of mouth will help inform locals about her business, which also opened earlier this year.
“I just want to connect with people,” Akillinar said. “I just want to meet the local community.”
Akillinar will be serving two varieties of quinoa bowls on Sunday, one for vegans and one for people without dietary restrictions, while Seoul Bystro will be serving kimchi fried rice and japchae, a Korean noodle dish.
Dirk McCall de Palomá, executive director of Sunnyside Shines, advised new Taste of Sunnyside participants to keep their dishes “small but delicious.”
“You want to make sure it’s not something that’s going to bankrupt you,” McCall de Palomá said. “But you want it to be something that’s going to be really delicious, like a really flavorful, interesting thing that’s going to make people say, ‘That’s an interesting place, I wanna go back’.”
He added that Taste of Sunnyside highlights Sunnyside as a “restaurant oasis,” stating that the neighborhood provides better food choices than almost all other neighborhoods in New York City.
McCall de Palomá said the change in the event’s format due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on participating businesses.
“It’s a huge bonus because everybody knows where the restaurants are and so they can come back,” he said.
For one restaurant, Taste of Sunnyside represents an opportunity to make an immediate impact in the neighborhood.
Masa Madre, a long-awaited bakery created by the owners of Mexican eatery deMole, opened its doors at 47-55 46th St. just three days ago.
Daniel Flores, whose father, Jose Luis Flores, opened Masa Madre, said the food crawl is an opportunity for the bakery to show residents that it is open for business.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Flores said. “The community has always been asking, ‘when are you going to open?'”
One restaurant owner is taking part in Taste of Sunnyside for the first time despite operating in the neighborhood for 17 years.
Yulan Lo opened Indian-Chinese fusion spot Tangra at 39-23 Queens Blvd. 17 years ago but said local residents are still unaware that the restaurant exists.
“A lot of local people don’t know who we are,” Lo said. “Most of our customers come from Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut or Manhattan.
Lo believes that the upcoming Taste of Sunnyside will help Tangra to connect with local customers.
Phil Lao and Suraj Gurung, the owners of takeout spot Brooklyn Dim Sum Co, have seen first-hand the impact that Taste of Sunnyside can have on forging connections with local residents.
Their restaurant, which is also located at CloudKitchen, has taken part in the last two Taste of Sunnyside events, allowing it to become recognized by members of the local community.
Lao said the restaurant is optimized for events such as Taste of Sunnyside because dim sum – a type of Chinese dumpling – is ideal for small-tasting plates.
He also advised other participating restaurants to serve their most popular menu items for the event.
“It’s pretty easy. We just serve our most popular menu item,” Lao said.
Participating Restaurants
The following businesses will be featured in this year’s Taste of Sunnyside, offering a wide array of flavors:
1. Arcobaleno Gelateria NYC (Italian)
2. Arriba Latin Fusion & Bar
3. Bajeko Sekuwa (Nepalese)
4. Bar 43 (Home of the Atomic Wings)
5. Baruir Coffee Shop (Roasting coffee in Sunnyside since 1966)
6. Belo Bar & Grill (Brazilian Fusion)
7. BK Dim Sum (Chinese)
8. Blended Smoothies
9. Bliss 46 Bistro (French
10. Bolivian Llama Party (Bolivian)
11. Brookside Market
12. Cardamom Indian Cuisine In
13. Chakra Café
14. Chiddy’s Cheesesteak
15. Chihuahua Restaurant & Cantina (Mexican)
16. Chipichape Bakery (Colombian)
17. Costa y Mar (Ecuadorian and Peruvian)
18. Curley’s Bagels
19. Danubius (Romanian)
20. de Mole Mexican Restaurant (Mexican)
21. Dolci Paradise Bakery
22. Elio’s Ice cream
23. Empire Shop
24. Good Stuff Eats
25. Jar Bar
26. Kaprichos (Colombian)
27. Kasbah Café (Algerian)
28. Kora Bakery (Filipino)
29. La Adelita (Mexican)
30. Laksa Shop (Malaysian)
31. La Pollera de Mario (Colombian)
32. La Vienesa Bakery (Serving Colombian baked goods since 1968)
33. Limeña Pisco Bar (Peruvian)
34. The Lowery Bar and Kitchen
35. Mad for Chicken (Korean Fusion)
36. Maison de Gateaux (French Bakery)
37. Marabella Pizza (Italian)
38. Masa Madre Bakery (Mexican & international artisanal bakery)
39. McGuinness’s Saloon (Irish Pub)
40. Melting Cups
41. Moa Coffee
42. Möge Tee
43. Mr. Burrito Loco (Mexican)
44. Newa Chhe (Nepalese)
45. Ricas Pupusas y Mas (El Salvadorian & Mexican)
46. Rincon Melania (Ecuadorian)
47. Riko Peruvian
48. Rogue Bar
49. Sanger Hall
50. Seoul Bystro (Korean)
51. Shah’s (Halah)
52. SingleCut Brewery
53. Spicy Nepal (Nepalese)
54. Soleluna (Italian)
55. Sotto le Stelle (Italian)
56. Sweet Avenue
57. Tacos el Guerro (Mexican)
58. Tangra (Indian-Chinese)
59. Takesushi (Japanese)
60. Tito Rad’s (Filipino)
61. Turkish Grill (Turkish)
