Picture this, you’re a foodie, moving to a new town, and you’re looking for the best places to eat…what do you do? If you’re Elizabeth Williams you seek wisdom from thousands of people! Elizabeth is the woman behind the popular Facebook page Pensacola Foodies.
I wanted to find out what inspired her to start this great resource so we met up for lunch. Her energy and enthusiasm for the Pensacola food scene is real! She really enjoys finding out about great places to eat.
Elizabeth launched the foodie page the same year she moved to Pensacola from Montgomery, AL. She never imagined that four years later the page would become so successful, so quickly. In fact, on the day we lunched, she was celebrating receiving her 50,000th member. She attributes the page’s success to fellow Pensacolians who enjoy eating out and talking about food as much as she does.
I’m happy to say that I’m definitely in her target audience. I knew nothing about the Pensacola food scene when I moved here two years ago and her Facebook page was/is invaluable to me.
The hottest topics are about tacos, wings, steaks, sushi, ramen and pizza. You can search within the group to find quick answers to your questions and when you do, previous posts that address your question will come up. Elizabeth says she uses the search feature all the time.
One of the most frequent commenters to the page is Lisa Cox who likes to posts her reviews of local spots. And, boy do Pensacola foodies love to comment. I have to admit, I’ve stayed up far too late reading comments ranging from where to find the best gumbo—to—Why we don’t have a Trader Joe’s in Pensacola!
Some of those comments can be on the negative side. But Elizabeth posts guidelines to keep the page real without bashing restaurants.
For instance, if you create a post about getting a slice of burnt pizza at a local pizza spot, you’ll have to post the picture to prove it. And even then, what one person considers burnt, may just be the dark bubbly spots from the brick oven that others crave.
Elizabeth suggests that before you post a negative comment you first reach out to the restaurant or tell the server.
As she put it, ”A restaurant is someone’s passion. If you own a restaurant it’s your life. People should have some empathy for owners and workers. We all have bad days.”
Sometimes there can be as many as 100 posts in a day and all of those posts have to be moderated and approved. She spends about an hour a day moderating. If you see a post that is offensive, you can report it to Elizabeth and she’ll look at it, and if it doesn’t follow the guidelines, it’s gone.
She does this in addition to being a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Downtown Pensacola.
She’s also happy that the page is useful to visitors to Pensacola as well. The majority of their questions are about where to go for good crab legs, oysters and shrimp.
We lunched at George’s Bistro. It was my first time there and I ordered Short Ribs and Mushroom Ravioli, a dish that’s popular on the Pensacola Foodies page. I can see why. It was perfection. I took the opportunity to ask Elizabeth what she enjoys eating, drinking and doing in the place we both now proudly call home!
What is your favorite cuisine?
Mexican, especially tacos.
What is your favorite cocktail?
Margarita
What is your favorite way to spend a day in Pensacola?
I’d spend the morning at Ft. Pickens, then lunch at the Grand Marlin. I’d head back to town and go to Bayview Park or take a walk Downtown. I’d end with dinner at George’s Bistro.
Besides food what other interests do you have?
I love dogs and I’m involved in the rescue community.
You can find the Facebook Foodie page here. You can also follow Elizabeth on Instagram.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you like best about the Facebook Foodie page and your favorite place to eat in town or on the beach.
Great article. Elizabeth is so great at what she does and the reason I love to visit Pensacola and the many phenomenal restaurants. She is also a great realtor!
Great article. Elizabeth is so great at what she does and the reason I love to visit Pensacola and the many phenomenal restaurants. She is also a great realtor!
Thank you so much. It was great meeting Elizabeth and I think she’s doing great things to spread the word about Pensacola restaurants. Hope you get the chance to visit soon!