Taste of Thomasville Food Tour recently was honored by Southern Living magazine as one of the top five food tours in the state of Georgia. 

“I was beside myself when I found out and honored at the same time,” said Debra Smith, a retired Thomasville schoolteacher and founder of the tour. “I wanted to just be mentioned one day in Southern Living. I never dreamed I would be given an honor like that.”

Her excitement was compounded about a week later when she attended the 2017 Global Food Tour Conference in Montreal. One of the session focused on advertising, and the speaker said that if your tour is listed in one of six magazines, including Southern Living, then you’ve made it. Smith was sitting next to the man who owns the Charleston (SC) Food Tours and who inspired her to start her own. 

“I punched him in the arm and said, ‘Looks like I’ve made it,’” Smith said.

Receiving the Southern Living recognition wasn’t the first time that something magical has been associated with the Taste of Thomasville Food Tour. On a past tour, neighbors in Virginia 20 years ago were reunited. On another tour, Smith and one of the people on her tour realized that they had grandfathers from the same ranch in Texas. Another special moment happened to a friend of Smith’s who took the tour on the birthday she shared with her twin sister, who had died years previously. After taking the food tour, “she said it was the first time in years she had smiled on her birthday,” Smith said. “She had always dreaded it.”

Before another tour, a young man told Smith he was considering proposing to his girlfriend on the tour. When they reached the Big Oak, Smith saw him pull the engagement ring from his pocket. 

“I was so excited, I couldn’t finish my story about the tree,” she said. 

The young man fell down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted.

Meeting the people who take her tours has been the most fulfilling part of the business, Smith said. She’s had tour participants from all continents, including a scientist from Antartica. Smith has had several repeat customers, and one local woman has been several times. Smith told her that if she continues, she’ll be hired as a tour guide. The tour recently celebrated its 5,000th participant with a gift of Downtown Dollars. 

Smith started the food tour after retiring from the Thomasville City Schools and from being a leader in Weight Watchers. She attended an intensive course at the Chicago-based Food Tour Pros to learn how to launch the business.  

“The rest is history,” Smith says. “Five years later, we’re going strong.” 

There are three tours offered:

• Taste of Thomasville Food Tour: In this three-hour downtown tour, participants sample a variety of foods that have won awards at the national and state level. At Jonah’s Shrimp and Grits, tourists receive a full bowl of shrimp and grits, which have been featured in Southern Living. The tour also includes Sweet Grass Cheese Shop, George and Louie’s seafood restaurant, AJ Moonspin pizza, Grassroots Coffee, and Marie’s Kakes. The foods add up to the equivalent of a large meal, and special diets can be accommodated. The tour also includes architectural commentary, historical facts, local culture, and culinary insight. Visitors experience a “quail hunt” finding sculptures that are hidden downtown. The tour includes a visit to the popular Big Oak and is an easy 1.2-mile walk.

• Taste of Thomasville AfterHours: The AfterHours tour includes a wine and cheese pairing at Liam’s restaurant, which has the South’s largest collection of cheese from around the world. The tour also includes food and a cocktail at the Plaza, which is the oldest continuing operating restaurant in Georgia. Visitors also enjoy a pairing of award-winning wines and chocolate at the Farmer’s Daughter Vineyards’ tasting room. Other stops include AJ’s Moonspin pizza and So.Ho. on Broad Street. The AfterHours tour, lasting up to three hours, offers enough food for dinner. This tour is an easy stroll of less than one mile. Drinkers and non-drinkers age 18 and older can take this tour.

• Taste of Thomasville Children’s Tour: This tour includes a visit to Sweet Grass Cheese Shop and AJ’s Moonspin pizza, and it ends with a cookie in the shape of the state of Georgia from Marie’s Kakes at the Bookshelf. The tour was created for upper elementary and middle school students, and at least one adult should attend with each group of children. This tour has been attended by youth groups, scouts, and schools doing field trips. It lasts up to two and one-half hours. 

All of the tours can be arranged as private tours. To book a tour, go to https://www.tasteofthomasvillefoodtour.com.