By Johnny Crosskey
At Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio, the lobby and second-floor mezzanine fill with local restaurants and the residents who come to taste their food. Best of the Bay attracts hundreds of guests to a date that tournaments rarely use.
The event returns Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. for its sixth year. A $35 ticket buys 20 samples, and guests vote by ballot to crown winners in 12 categories.
For municipal leaders, Best of the Bay shows how a sports facility can serve its community well beyond competition, using space and staff the venue already has.
How Did Best of the Bay Start?
Before COVID, the venue hosted Taste the North Coast, a food event. However, that event didn’t return after the pandemic. The venue saw an opening and built its own.
“We’re like, hey, there’s some demand for an event like this. So we got it rolling,” said Jake Schwerer, senior marketing manager at Cedar Point Sports Center.
Best of the Bay launched with eight categories. It now has 12.
What’s New in Year Six?
This year adds two categories: BBQ and grilling, and comfort food. The goal is to reach restaurants that never saw themselves in the lineup. “It definitely was a play to try and tap into another pool of vendors,” Schwerer said. His pitch to those owners is simple: “Tell me what you offer, and we can find you a way to fit.”
Vendors can enter multiple categories, which gives returning restaurants room to show their range. The vendor who has won best breakfast every year also enters other categories. “One vendor in multiple categories allows them to showcase a lot of the different stuff that they do,” Schwerer said.
The category list also changes when the calendar calls for it. Pizza ran for the first couple of years, then came off the list because the venue hosts a separate pizza competition. Dropping the category kept the two events from competing for the same vendors.
Why Vendors Keep Coming Back
The math is straightforward for a small restaurant. A vendor spot with power costs $250. A few years ago, one vendor told Schwerer he saw no reason to spend $10,000 a year on a billboard when he could cover the booth fee and his product costs, let people taste his food, and hand out flyers. “He goes, this is the best marketing that I can do,” Schwerer said.
Vendors also receive a payback for every sample ticket guests turn in. Ticket counts don’t decide the winners. Community ballots do.
The night doubles as a rare gathering for local restaurant owners. “Normally they’re off running their businesses and don’t get to interact with each other much,” Schwerer said. Six years in, those owners know each other, and a few friendly rivalries have formed.
The vendor pool reaches past Sandusky. Of the 10 vendors committed so far, four come from Norwalk, about 20 minutes away. Past vendors have traveled nearly an hour.
Why Guests Keep Coming Back
Ticket prices have held at $35, so guests know exactly what they are paying for. The portions are generous. “If you’re using all the sample tickets, you are leaving full,” Schwerer said. “If you’re leaving hungry, you did something wrong.”
The voting keeps people invested. Staff count paper ballots by hand after the event, and results have ranged from blowouts to categories decided by a single vote.
Best of the Bay is an indoor, walk-and-talk event. Guests grab a sample and chat with the owner before moving to the next table. Weather is never a factor, and the 5:30 p.m. start lets people come straight from work.
Running a Food Event Inside a Sports Venue
Layout drives the guest flow. Food trucks park outside, and their tables sit first inside the door so staff can move in and out easily. Restaurant vendors line the lobby and the second-floor mezzanine. Schwerer said the team has gotten better over the years at setting the right number of tables and chairs.
Vendor recruitment runs late by nature. With less than 50 days to go, 10 vendors have committed. Restaurants have to staff the event while still covering their home location, and many decide close to the date. Last-minute changes happen too. One food truck owner, a multiyear winner, dropped out 10 days before a past event after his truck broke down. “Things like that happen, but we’re able to pivot quickly,” Schwerer said.
Promotion mixes digital channels with direct outreach. The venue runs social media and newsletter campaigns, and events manager Kaelyn Harkness visits restaurants in person to drop off materials and recruit vendors. Partnerships with local radio stations extend the reach. The five-time breakfast champion has a weekly spot on one of those stations. “Being a small town, it’s easier,” Schwerer said.
What Municipal Leaders Should Take From It
Best of the Bay is first and foremost a community event. “It’s not like we’re sitting here trying to say that this event keeps the lights on,” Schwerer said. A previous SFC case study put the event’s revenue at roughly $13,500 a year.
The value shows up in how the building gets used. A sports facility built for tournaments has open weeknights, and a food event fills one with residents who may never attend a volleyball tournament. It gives local restaurants a low-cost marketing channel and keeps the venue connected to the town between weekend events.
SFC has written about designing unique experiences in sports complexes and about how economic outcomes depend on professional operations. Cedar Point Sports Center puts both into practice on a Wednesday in November.
Cities planning a new facility should build community programming into the operating plan from the start, including which dates tournaments will not fill and which local partners can fill them. Existing venues can start by asking what their community already wants and whether a past event left a gap.
SFC helps municipalities develop and manage sports facilities that serve their communities year-round. To discuss what your community could support, call 727-474-3845 or fill out the contact form.
Download
Cedar Point Sports Center Case Study
