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Judges coming to Lewiston for national contest
Public reception scheduled for Wednesday at The Silo Restaurant
Travel Channel will be in Lewiston accompanying judges
Lewiston is finalist in USA Today/Rand McNally "Best for Food" Small Town
Press release
Lewiston is one step closer to winning the coveted USA Today/Rand McNally competition for Best of the Road "Best for Food" small town in America.
Judges will be in Lewiston from Wednesday, June 20, to Saturday, June 23, to visit local restaurants and food establishments. Lewiston qualified in the competition by beating 176 other U.S. towns in a national online voting contest in May.
A public welcome reception is planned at The Silo Restaurant, 115 N. Water St., on Wednesday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m. Local citizens are invited to participate by bringing homemade welcome signs and posters, and are encouraged to show Lewiston's warmth and hospitality.
A team of videographers will accompany the judges, Mike Shubic and Brian Cox, from the Travel Channel to chronicle their Lewiston visit. The Travel Channel is preparing to air a one-hour special on July 25 (8 p.m.), hosted by Bert Kreischer.
Judges, who call themselves the "Road Bros," will be visiting the top six towns during their month-long tour from Washington, D.C., to Seattle to help determine which community will be crowned "Best for Food" in the USA.
The rules of the competition allow the local volunteers to escort the judges around town the first day. However, on the second day, they are free to explore and discover the town on their own, like typical visitors or tourists.
Lewiston is well known for its restaurants and food establishments; there are 30 places to eat within a square mile of the village alone.
The winning town for "Best for Food" will be announced in Seattle on July 16.
In a remarkable achievement, Lewiston qualified for the competition by receiving the highest number of online votes and beating 176 other towns and cities in May. The effort was organized by a 100 percent volunteer committee that has no direct connection to Lewiston restaurants - just a group of local citizens who have pride in their community and think that Lewiston deserves the title for "Best for Food."
USA Today and Rand McNally are sponsoring the contest, and the winner will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in publicity and exposure. Lewiston is the smallest town, by population, competing in the "Best for Food" category. Other competitors are Charlottesville, Va.; Burnsville, Minn.; Bloomington, Ind., Santa Fe, N.M., and Walla Walla, Wash.
"Best of the Road" judges visiting Lewiston are:
Mike Shubic and Brian Cox of Team "Road Bros"