That's a wrap: 12 Weeks of Foodie Summer, by the numbers

A summer of eating local, by the numbers

Twelve weeks. Twelve themes. One long, delicious Tucson summer. From May 18 through August 9, the 12 Weeks of Foodie Summer challenge sent Tucsonans out to eat their way through the city — one themed week at a time — and the receipts are in.

• 880 qualified receipts submitted across the summer

• 253 Tucson foodies played along

• 214+ locally-owned restaurants, cafes, trucks, and shops received at least one receipt

• More than $33,000 spent at local Tucson restaurants

• 63 weekly prizes awarded, from prize packages valued at roughly $5,700 for the season

• 12 weeks, 12 themes — from Asian to Sonoran, with wine, vegan, coffee, happy hour, and everything in between

• 6 Southern Arizona communities represented, spanning 32 zip codes of participating restaurants

The story of the summer

Every campaign has a moment when it catches fire. Ours was Coffee & Tea Week. Week 4 turned into the biggest week of the whole summer: 169 receipts from 95 participants — including 73 people submitting for the very first time. Apparently the way to Tucson's heart is a cortado.

Then there are the super foodies who went above and beyond to support local. Local foodie and long-time Tucson Foodie club member Andrea Byk earned perfect attendance: a qualified receipt in every single one of the 12 weeks — 63 receipts at 48 different local spots in all, including a six-day streak where she ate local every single day. Another foodie took a different path to legend status, spending $1,908 across 29 receipts at 29 different establishments — never the same place twice. That's not just participation; that's a tour of the city.

And Tucson, you have a ritual: Sunday at 5 p.m. was the single busiest submission hour of the campaign, and more than a quarter of all receipts came in on Sundays.

The leaderboards

Most-loved restaurants of the summer

• Sonoran House — 49 receipts, the most-loved restaurant of the summer

• Transit Tea — 18 receipts

• Amelia's Mexican Kitchen — 17 receipts

• Redbird Scratch Kitchen + Bar — 13 receipts

• Desert Drifter Coffee — 11 receipts

• Prep & Pastry — 11 receipts

• Casa Asada Taquería — 9 receipts

• Le Buzz Caffe — 8 receipts

Winner of every theme week

• Week 1 — Asian: Noodleholics

• Week 2 — Wine: Arizona Wine Collective, Postino, & Sunshine Wine (three-way tie)

• Week 3 — Vegan: Tumerico

• Week 4 — Coffee & Tea: Sonoran House

• Week 5 — Happy Hour: Postino, Redbird Scratch Kitchen + Bar, & Sonoran House (tie)

• Week 6 — Frozen Dessert: Frost Gelato

• Week 7 — Burgers & BBQ: Redbird Scratch Kitchen + Bar

• Week 8 — New-to-Me: Redbird Scratch Kitchen + Bar

• Week 9 — Italian: Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria

• Week 10 — Breakfast & Brunch: Prep & Pastry

• Week 11 — Steak & Carne Asada: Amelia's Mexican Kitchen & Casa Asada Taquería (tie)

• Week 12 — Sonoran: Amelia's Mexican Kitchen

What we learned

We believe in honest recaps, so here's ours. About half of our participants submitted exactly one receipt — which tells us the door was easy to walk through, and we can design next year to make the second visit just as easy as the first. Meanwhile, a devoted crew of 42 super foodies drove roughly half of all volume. Both groups matter, and next summer will be built for both.

The people who stuck around got more committed as the summer went on — week-to-week participation grew noticeably stronger in the back half of the campaign than in the early weeks. And Coffee & Tea Week proved that low-cost, low-friction themes are how new people find their way in: 73 first-timers in a single week. Bigger-commitment themes, meanwhile, rewarded the loyalists. That's the blueprint for next year.

Thank you, Tucson

12 Weeks of Foodie Summer happened because a lot of people believed in eating local. Our deepest thanks to presenting sponsor Visit Tucson, and to our partners 510 South Marketing, BBB Serving Southern Arizona, and Arizona Wine Collective — who, we'd note, also earned their way onto the Wine Week leaderboard fair and square.

Thank you to every one of the 214+ locally-owned restaurants who fed this campaign, week after week. This whole thing was a love letter to you.

And to the team at Tucson Foodie who made it run: Addie (community and partnerships), Hannah (social), and Jackie (editorial).

Same time next summer, Tucson!