Sunnyside Shines is hosting the Taste of Sunnyside launch party at QBK Sports

Oct 11, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

The Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID) hosted a launch event for Taste of Sunnyside on Thursday evening, bringing together business owners and community members who will participate in Sunday’s highly anticipated restaurant crawl.

Thursday’s kickoff event was held at QBK Sports at 41-20 39th St. and featured several restaurants that will be participating in the annual event for the first time.

The upcoming Food Crawl will feature more than 60 local restaurants and pubs taking part, with 20 establishments taking part in the event for the first time.

Sunnyside Shines has sold 1,200 tickets for the upcoming Food Crawl, making it by far the largest event in Taste of Sunnyside’s 14-year history. Last year the capacity was limited to 900 tickets and around 40 local companies took part.

The event takes place on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and features live music, family-friendly activities and an exhibition featuring local artists.

A number of restaurant owners who have opened businesses in Sunnyside in the past 12 months were looking forward to their first Taste of Sunnyside as an opportunity to establish themselves in the neighborhood.

Due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event moved to a crawl format in 2021, with ticket holders now visiting booths set up outside of participating facilities.

Alvaro Lopez and Javier Alvarado, who own Korean gastropub Seoul Bystro at 43-10 Queens Blvd. opened. At the beginning of the summer, Taste of Sunnyside said it was a chance to spread the word about their new restaurant.

“We are very excited,” Lopez said. “We are very community-oriented. We love being involved in the local community.

“We want the community to know we are here for them. Come by, we have great prices all around.”

Gigi Akillinar, the owner of health food store GoodStuff Eats at CloudKitchens on Skillman Ave. 40-05, will also be attending her first Taste of Sunnyside event this Sunday and said she hopes word of mouth will help spread the word to locals about her business, which also opened earlier this year.

“I just want to connect with people,” Akillinar said. “I just want to get to know the local community.”

Akillinar will serve two types of quinoa bowls on Sunday, one for vegans and one for people without dietary restrictions, while Seoul Bystro will serve 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 tasty.”

“You want to make sure it doesn’t bankrupt you,” McCall de Palomá said. “But you want it to be something that’s really delicious, like a really flavorful, interesting thing that makes people say, ‘That’s an interesting place, I want to go back’.”

He added that Taste of Sunnyside highlights Sunnyside as a “dining oasis” and explained that the neighborhood offers a better selection of food than almost any other neighborhood in New York City.

McCall de Palomá said the change in event format due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on participating companies.

“It’s a big advantage because everyone knows where the restaurants are so they can come back,” he said.

For a restaurant, Taste of Sunnyside represents an opportunity to make an immediate impact in the neighborhood.

Masa Madre, a long-awaited bakery founded by the owners of Mexican restaurant 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 was an opportunity for the bakery to show residents it was open for business.

“It took a long time,” Flores said. “The community has always asked, ‘When are you going to open?’”

A restaurant owner is participating in Taste of Sunnyside for the first time, even though he has been in the neighborhood for 17 years.

Yulan Lo opened Indian-Chinese fusion spot Tangra at 39-23 Queens Blvd. 17 years ago, but residents still didn’t know the restaurant existed.

“A lot of people locally don’t know who we are,” Lo said. “Most of our customers come from Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut or Manhattan.

Lo believes the upcoming Taste of Sunnyside will help Tangra connect with local customers.

Phil Lao and Suraj Gurung, owners of takeout joint Brooklyn Dim Sum Co, have seen firsthand the impact Taste of Sunnyside can have in building relationships with local residents.

Her restaurant, also located at CloudKitchen, has participated in the last two Taste of Sunnyside events, gaining recognition from members of the local community.

Lao said the restaurant is optimized for events like Taste of Sunnyside because dim sum – a type of Chinese dumpling – is ideal for small plates.

He also recommended other participating restaurants to serve their most popular menu items for the event.

“It’s pretty simple. We only serve our most popular menu item,” Lao said.

Participating restaurants

The following companies will be at Taste of Sunnyside this year, offering a wide range 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 (coffee roasting 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 Cafe

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. Eat good things

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 (offering 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 and international artisan bakery)

39. McGuinness’s Saloon (Irish Pub)

40. Melting cup

41. Moa Coffee

42. Like tea

43. Mr. Burrito Loco (Mexican)

44. Newa Chhe (Nepali)

45. Ricas Pupusas y Mas (El Salvadorians and Mexicans)

46. ​​​​Rincon Melania (Ecuadorian)

47. Riko Peruvian

48. Rogue Bar

49. Sanger Hall

50. Seoul Bystro (Korean)

51. Shahs (Halah)

52. SingleCut Brewery

53. Spicy Nepal (Nepali)

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)

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