With Holidays on the Horizon, Chamber Draws Attention to Towson Restaurants

Lisa Troia Martin is a jack of all trades. She's a restaurateur, a one-woman marketing team, and on Wednesday, a server.

The owner of was serving sausage at the Palisades apartment complex in Towson Wednesday evening, as part of the Taste of Towson event.

"You never rest on your laurels in this business," Martin said.

Aimed at business and community leaders, the event brought representatives and—perhaps more importantly—food from 14 Towson restaurants. Nancy Hafford, the chamber's executive director, said the Taste of Towson event was meant to draw attention to local restaurants as companies start to plan holiday parties, in hopes of keeping money from Towson in Towson.

"We have so many great restaurants in Towson and it's great to highlight them," Hafford said.

Other restaurants that turned out Wednesday included , , , , and .

The event marks an early start to Winterfest, the chamber's slate of holiday activities. Many favorites  will be returning, according to Winterfest committee chair Doug Riley. That includes free roasted chestnuts, ice sculptures and the famous Hutzler's reindeer, Bow and Tinsel.

Martin expressed optimism that this year's Winterfest will be good for business, and Wednesday's Taste of Towson was just the start.

"We're trying to let people know [Towson] is a great place to eat and shop during the holidays," she said. "We're trying to build [Winterfest] up and get people really thinking about coming to Towson."

Patch will have a full schedule of events as the holidays draw closer. But for now, check out some delicious photos.