By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — Chili lovers from around the area and beyond came to downtown Three Rivers Saturday to try a wide variety of chilis during the 2026 Three Rivers Chili Cook-off.
Ten participating businesses in the downtown blocks of Main Street and Portage Avenue participated in the contest, held for a few hours Saturday afternoon. Those who stopped by were able to taste all the chili available, made by the businesses, and vote for their favorites, while also entering to win a number of different gift baskets and prizes.
“This is the first one we’ve had since 2023, so we brought back and dusted it off,” Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Angie Metty said. “Turnout was pretty good.”
The cook-off was originally scheduled for Jan. 10, however due to the frigid weather for that weekend, it was rescheduled for Feb. 7. However, that did not stop those that came out to try the chili available. Approximately 43 tickets were sold for the event, according to Metty, and $250 was raised for the Three Rivers Food Site from the event.
Participating businesses included Daly Dope, Farrand Hall Diner and Bakery, Useless Creatures Brewing Company, Graffiti Graphics, GG’s Cookies, Lowry’s Books and More, Bear Arts Studio, Riviera Theatre and Bar, HG Real Estate, and the DDA themselves. Each one had a unique chili using different ingredients. A couple went with a chicken chili while some used beef, brisket or burger, one didn’t use beans at all, one used Dr. Pepper as an ingredient, and one of them even went an interesting route and added cashews to the mix.
In the end, it was Farrand Hall Diner and Bakery’s smoked brisket chili with smoked cheddar and scallions that took first place in the competition. Prior to the results, co-owner James Gray said with the diner and bakery being the newest downtown business, having opened up just a couple days prior, he enjoyed being a part of the competition.
“It’s fun, and we’re excited for our first downtown event,” Gray said. “We do a brisket chili periodically at the bakery, and we always want to have really great-quality ingredients. The chefs love to smoke meats, so any opportunity to smoke some meat, they do it.”
Second place went to GG’s Cookies, who used an old family recipe for their hamburger, beans and tomato chili. It’s the second competition in a row where they’ve finished in second place. Owner Regina Mains said she was excited to participate in the contest again.
“I love it. There’s a lot of great chili out there. All the different places participating, just to get a lot of them out there, we need to get people to come downtown and see what’s going on,” Mains said. “Our chili was my mom’s recipe, and we blew the dust off of it and used it the last couple of years.”
Third place went to Daly Dope Dispensary’s green salsa verde chicken chili, made by one of their employees. Owner Daly Broekema said she was excited to have the cook-off back after a couple-year absence.
“We always have a great time getting together to cook with each other, and it’s nice to have something different downtown. I like to see everyone participate,” Broekema, who is also a member of the DDA’s board, said. “The green in the chili, we wanted to do something dispensary-related, so we went with the green, salsa verde-type deal.”
Metty said she enjoyed seeing the number of businesses that participated in the competition and the variety of chilis that were out and about.
“I love that for them and for everyone that’s participating and tasting the chili,” Metty said. “It’s so good, I don’t know how people can decide. I’ve asked people that brought back their ballots what their favorite one was, and I’ve been getting a different one every time, and that means everyone has excellent chili.”
Other business owners and participants interviewed said it was good to see people out and about and all the businesses participating.
“It’s a nice winter warm-up for the cold we’ve been having,” Holly Welton-Sangalli of HG Real Estate, who brought a Chili Colorado to the table, said. “We really hope our downtown continues to grow, and we can get some more businesses and more participation as we do these different events.”
“I think this has been an incredible experience,” Andrew George of Graffiti Graphics, who is also a former DDA board chair, said. “It’s incredible seeing the restaurants and the retail businesses, seeing the customers coming off the street, seeing them participate is amazing. I love to see the restaurants especially participating, because I know they’re tough competition. We’re just a streetwear company down here, but I like to think we can make some mad chili.”
“We love to be part of the community, and we feel doing things like this help bring people together,” Ariel Louiselle of Bear Arts Studio said. “We really enjoy Three Rivers and anything that helps people come out, especially on a cold day. It really makes it feel like we’re in a nice, tight-knit community, and that’s what we’re all about.”
DDA Board Chair Charlie Wolgamood said the organization does events like these both for the businesses and for the people of Three Rivers.
“We always try to do this for the businesses obviously, and we have fun doing it. It’s also to give people a chance to experience downtown and promote downtown,” Wolgamood said. “I like to get people out and I like to get businesses involved. Sometimes it’s hard, so I appreciate anything they do.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
