Area restaurants are preparing for the 18th annual Taste of Carrollton, hosted by Carrollton Main Street, with owners anticipating the event as a means to connect with the community and to cook up new business in an economy that has put a crimp on many families’ dining-out budgets.

Thus far, 30 restaurants have signed up for the event, which runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, on Adamson Square in downtown Carrollton. Participants will come from all over the county, but according to Carrollton Main Street Director Jessica Reynolds, they’re all participating for the same reason: exposure.

“This is really a great opportunity to get out there and promote yourself and whatever specials you’re offering,” she said. “If you’re new in the community, this is your debut. You have this captive audience that is here to try your stuff.”

Reynolds said people often stick with the restaurants they’re familiar with and don’t branch out. This event, she said, will give people the chance to taste new things and discover new restaurants.

“After this event, those participating tend to see an increase in business because people were too afraid to try their food in the past,” she said. “People like what they like, but this gives people the opportunity to try a whole bunch of things, and they really respond to that.”

And variety will be the name of the game, with the foods available at the event to range from pizza to fried chicken to old-fashioned barbecue. For the restaurant owners themselves, though, the food itself will serve as the best kind of advertisement, especially when there’s an anticipated crowd of approximately 4,000 area residents.

Gary Duke, owner of The Sunnyside Cafe in Carrollton, said he decided to participate in the event this year because it affords him the chance to connect with the community on a far-reaching level. He said the early success of his restaurant can be attributed largely to neighborhood support, and events like Taste of Carrollton play into that.

“We’re just very interested in the community. We’re a community restaurant, and that’s the key to our success,” he said. “Our success thus far has been largely due to word of mouth. People telling their friends and neighbors has just been key. We’re still trying to get the word out about our philosophy and what we’re here trying to do, and I think [Taste of Carrollton] will help out with that.”

So often, smaller businesses fly under the radar of the every day consumer, said Bowdon Coffee Roaster Owner Kathie Holz, and it’s important for these businesses to capitalize on local events to introduce their wares to the public. This is especially true, she said, considering the state of the national economy.

“We just thought it would be a good opportunity to have thousands of people that are there participating in the Taste of Carrollton to get to know what we have to offer. It’ll be good exposure for us,” Holz said. “Advertising is expensive, and when you’re struggling to keep your doors open, any opportunity that you put yourself out there and do some marketing, it’s just invaluable.”

That kind of exposure is critical even for those who have shops on the square, said Michelle Denaris, manager of Highland Deli and Grill on the square.

“It seems like a lot of people aren’t familiar with everything on the square anyway because they just can’t make it during the day, and so many of the shops aren’t open at night,” Denaris said. “This event gets them down here, and they can see what these shops have to offer, and they can see we’re here for them.”

With such high numbers expected in attendance, there’s going to be no shortage of future potential diners, said Steve Foster, general manager of the Honey Baked Ham Cafe on Bankhead Highway. More than that, though, he said the upcoming event will once again establish the company’s lengthy relationship with the Carrollton community, as the Honey Baked Ham processing plant has been in town several decades.

“We’re just hoping to get some exposure,” he said. “Honey Baked Ham is family owned, and they’ve kind of got a family-owned attitude towards things, and so they get really involved in the community. We thought the Taste of Carrollton would be fantastic for this, getting into the middle of town and being able to show off a little bit.”