Great Austin Food Race Extends Entry Deadline

Every year, the Austin Food & Wine Alliance awards grants that invest in the innovators who truly make our city one of the nation's culinary hot spots. So what better way to fund those grants than a culinary scavenger hunt? Welcome to the Great Austin Food Race.

The idea is to put a spotlight on a certain area of the city – in this case, East Austin – in order to reveal many of the food businesses in the area. Twenty-one businesses will participate; there could be restaurants, food trucks, breweries, coffee shops, urban farms, bars, or food artisans.

As many as 30 four-person teams will have three hours to complete 10 stops and must provide their own transportation. Teams will gather at the Gateway Motor Club (3700 Thompson) at 3:30pm on Wed., May 14 to receive their first clues. Three lucky teams will be chosen at random to be driven around the race in a brand new Tesla.

At each stop, the team must complete an activity that relates to that particular business and post photos of themselves doing it on Twitter in order to get points and clues about the next stop. It's possible to earn bonus points by competing in costume and taking photos of iconic East Austin landmarks along the way, all posted on social media, of course. Points will be tracked and awarded via social media, as well.

After the race is completed, all the teams, sponsors, volunteers, and participating businesses will gather for an East Austin Block Party with food, food trucks, and brews back at the Gateway Motor Club.

The registration deadline has been extended until Sunday, May 11. The registration fee is a tax-deductible $500 and companies are allowed to have more than one team. All proceeds benefit the AFWA Culinary Grant Program.

Great Austin Food Race

Wednesday, May 14, 4-7pm

Gateway Motor Club, 3700 Thompson St.