DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — There's a new tour in Palm Beach County shedding new light on one of Delray's oldest neighborhoods.
It's called the Delray Heritage Tour and it's starts on 5th Avenue and area that doesn't see a lot of tourists.
"This is where several of our restaurant partners are," Stephanie Jones said.
Jones is the founder of the Cultural Heritage Alliance For Tourism.
"Just become immersed in the culture through the people the history and the art and the food," she said.
A tour hoping to diversify a billion dollar tourism industry.
"I started CHAT because I wanted to create broader tourism engagement opportunities for smaller businesses in heritage neighborhoods in multicultural communities," she said.
One of the first spots on the tour is Donnie's Place. One of the few restaurants in the West Settlers Historic District.
"We're probably one of the only soul food restaurants in this area," Donnie Dobson said.
After 17 years on Atlantic Avenue in 2007 Dobson said he had to move his business to 5th Avenue because of the increase in rent. He says business slowed but now things are looking up.
"People didn't want to come off Atlantic Avenue they were a little uncomfortable, but now since the tour coming through you know they see this is a nice neighborhood," he said.
With tours operating in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Jones says she has plans to keep moving north in hopes of spreading the word on what she calls south Florida's cultural hidden gems.
"This is a safe neighborhood, this is a community where they can get out, they can walk, they can come visit these restaurants on their own," she said.
The tour operates on Fridays and Saturdays and pricing starts at $54.
For more information, click here.
