MORE THAN 500 IN ATTENDANCE AT ST. JOSEPH’S 3rd ANNUAL CHILI TOUR EQUALS $1,000 DONATION FOR LOCAL SOUP KITCHEN, COACH’S BAR & GRILL WINS CHILI PEPPER AWARD AND BEST CHILI HONORS

On Friday, Jan. 30, 22 downtown businesses competed for the Chili Pepper Award during the third annual Chili Tour. According to the Welcome Center visitor log, 570 visitors participated in this year’s festivities and enjoyed a wide array of chili, sweets, and more. This year’s race was close – with just one people’s-choice vote determining the winner. This year’s chili tour winner is Coach’s Bar & Grill for their “Brisket Chili” featured at the St. Joseph Today Welcome Center. Coach’s and the Welcome Center will host the Chili Pepper Award Trophies throughout the year. This year’s runner up honor goes to Perennial Accents with the second most votes for their “Farmer’s Market Chili”. Because it was such a close race, both Coach’s Bar & Grill and Perennial Accents will be awarded a business photo session with Joshua Nowicki Photography, sponsored by St. Joseph Today.

For the first time, the Chili Tour also promoted a charitable give back through a $2 suggested participation donation where the net proceeds would be donated to the Soup Kitchen in Benton Harbor. This initiative resulted in a total donation of $1,081 that will be presented this week to Merry Stover, the Soup Kitchen’s executive director.

For more details about the chili tour and other St. Joseph Today events, visit stjoetoday.com, facebook.com/stjoetoday or call 269-985-1111.

St. Joseph Today is a membership-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to developing, producing and promoting events and businesses in St. Joseph, Mich. and its surrounding communities.