The doors haven’t opened and already the inaugural sampling event epitomizing all things “Little Washington” is being called wildly successful. According to Beth Byrd, director of Washington Harbor District Alliance, the last tickets for the Thursday evening event, of the 275 available, were sold the first week of February.

Thirty-four vendors and 14 Washington restaurants and food purveyors will descend on the Washington Civic Center early in the day to prepare for the rush of those wanting to get a little “Taste of the Good Life in Little Washington” for themselves. Most vendors will be offering up tastes of fare regularly featured on their menus; others will be trying out samples of new menu items like Backwater Jack’s crab cakes. And ticket holders be aware — it’s a tasting, not a buffet.

The WHDA and Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce plan had been to sell tickets at the door, but because of the event’s popularity, that’s no longer an option. Byrd says ticket sales reflect how downtown Washington has become a dining destination.

It’s certainly true. Downtown Washington boasts many restaurants, all unique because of the restored spaces they inhabit, their varying menus and, most importantly, that they are independently owned and operated. There’s not a franchise in sight.

Washington is a unique place and its downtown restaurants reflect the quality. We should be proud, and thankful, that so many business owners are working to carry the torch and keep it that way. But we’re also lucky because we don’t have to have tickets to “Taste the Good Life in Little Washington” to find that out. You can walk into any downtown restaurant and sample the good life any day.