The event was the second major night of the Bathurst Winter Festival, providing people the opportunity to enjoy the amusements and a wide range of regional food and beverage producers. 

With Brew and Bite getting underway at 12pm, much earlier than in previous years, patrons had more opportunities to fill up. 

Some vendors, such as the Smoking Brothers from Orange, sold out of food entirely.

Ben Alcock, from the Smoking Brothers, said Brew and Bite was well organised and ran quite smoothly. 

“The addition of lunch made for a great constant and steady trade and I’m sure all vendors would agree,” he said.

He felt it would be hard for Bathurst Regional Council to improve the event for vendors, as it was “perfect” from his perspective.

“Possibly for the crowd a little more seating would be good, however there was a already a reasonable amount of seating provided and I’m not sure if they could fit any more seating in,” Mr Alcock said. 

The beverage providers also had a great night of sales. 

Vale Creek Wines owner Liz McFarland said it was good to see so many residents and visitors out enjoying the festival.

She felt the number of patrons there must have increased from last year as her stall sold out of mulled wine.

“We still sold out of mulled wine and we did more than double of what we did last year,” she said.  

Long lines stretching well into Kings Parade was a big problem at Brew and Bite in 2017, but that issue appeared to have been rectified somewhat this year. 

Ms McFarland said it may have been a different experience for food vendors, but she didn’t feel people had to wait too long for drinks. 

Overall, she felt it was a good event for people, but said council may need to tweak the event slightly as she felt offering alcohol from 12pm wasn’t the best option. 

She added that the problem of running out of food could be combated by getting other permanent businesses more involved with the festival. 

“I’m not sure we can every solve the problem of running out of food [at the stalls], but we’re lucky to be in such a good location with all of the other businesses around,” Ms McFarland said. 

Deputy mayor Bobby Bourke said the vendors and patrons all seemed to have a good night from the feedback he received.

“I think overall [the vendors] were pretty happy with it,” he said.

“I spoke to a lot of people and no one said they couldn’t get anything to eat.” 

He said council’s events team deserved a lot of praise after doing such a great job in organising Brew and Bite.

“I’m really looking forward to next year to see what other attractions we can get there,” Cr Bourke said.