Chef-Led Food Tours and Riverwalk E-Bikes Come to Downtown Tuscaloosa

Visit Tuscaloosa has added two new ways to spend an afternoon downtown: e-bikes you can rent off the sidewalk outside Hotel Indigo, and a three-hour guided food tour through locally owned restaurants.

Both are launching this fall, the tourism bureau announced Monday.

“Tuscaloosa has so much to offer within and around our downtown, and these new experiences make it easier for visitors to see more of it during their time here,” said Visit Tuscaloosa President and CEO Kelsey Rush. “They showcase two different sides of the city, from our outdoor spaces and riverfront to the businesses and local eateries that contribute to the character of our community.”

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Riding the Riverwalk

The e-bikes and their docking station sit outside Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa Downtown at 111 Greensboro Avenue, within reach of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk and the University of Alabama campus.

Renting one takes a phone. Download an app called Boomerang Fleets, add a credit card and unlock a bike at the Hotel Indigo dock. Bikes have to be returned to the same dock.

Rates are $15 for the first 90 minutes and $5 for each additional half hour. Riders must be 18 or older.

The program came out of a grant from the Innovate Alabama Network, a statewide program that steers resources toward local innovation, economic growth and outdoor recreation, to the Tuscaloosa Sports and Tourism Foundation, which is Visit Tuscaloosa’s foundation.

“Hotel Indigo is thrilled to partner with Visit Tuscaloosa to bring this fun new offering to our guests and community,” said Taylor Liles, director of sales at Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa Downtown. “We have already received great feedback from visitors and residents who have enjoyed getting out and riding the e-bikes.”

(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)

Tasting Tuscaloosa

The food tour runs most weeks on a Wednesday or Thursday evening, with the schedule shifting around home football weekends. It lasts roughly three hours on foot and is led by Chef Alison Hudnall, who pairs chef-selected bites at each stop with history, architecture and local color.

Restaurants rotate from tour to tour. Urban Bar & Kitchen, Central Mesa, Rolf’s, Alabama Peanut Company and Jalapeños Downtown Cocina + Tequila Bar are among the participants.

There are two versions. The Sips and Bites Tour costs $75 a person and includes cocktail pairings. The Classic Bites Tour costs $55 and serves the same food without alcohol. Custom tours are available on request.

“Tasting Tuscaloosa brings several of our local restaurants together in one evening and gives guests a chance to learn more about the people behind them,” Hudnall said. “Each stop was selected to highlight a different part of Tuscaloosa’s food scene while sharing some of the history and character of downtown along the way.”

Dates and reservations for both are posted at visittuscaloosa.com.

For more exclusive coverage of food and tourism in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.