Sid's Gourmet Smoke N' Grill is one of eight participating restaurants for the May the 4th dinner crawl event in downtown Medford, offering a special Ewok BBQ. 

A short time ago in a city close, close nearby, an avid foodie in Medford organized a themed dinner crawl incorporating local eateries into an event infused with elements of “Star Wars.”

Entering its second year, the May the 4th Dinner Crawl invites participants to dress up in their very best “Star Wars” attire — whether that means a full Jedi or Sith costume or just a favorite Chewbacca T-shirt — and explore some of downtown Medford’s restaurants with themed dishes and drinks inspired by the film franchise.

“The May 4 event is a fun way to explore (Medford’s downtown eateries), where guests can come and try out different locations; we have eight participating businesses right now, and you can try free samples from each,” said Kristine Wright, owner and founder of Grub Quests, the organization arranging the dinner crawl.

The May the 4th Dinner Crawl coincides with Rogue Comic Con, giving attendees the opportunity to continue the cosplay fun with food after Comic Con wraps up the same day.

Among the free food and drink samples the event will feature include Padawan Pie from Ollie’s Brooklyn Slices Pizza, Darth Tater chips from Luncheonette, and Mandalorian Mushrooms from Grape Street Bar and Grill.

The May the 4th Dinner Crawl starts at 6:15 p.m. and wraps up at 9:15 p.m. Saturday, May 4, with participants able to register at the Retro Wormhole, 30 N. Central Ave. in Medford between 5:45 to 7:15 p.m. Cost to attend is $15.

To preregister, visit maythe4thdinnercrawl.ticketleap.com.

The Retro Wormhole is the start location for the Dinner Crawl and participants will have the opportunity to approach the glass counter at the back of the store to discover what their fated path is within the “Star Wars” universe.

“There will be four different routes, and I purposely made four routes so the restaurants aren’t slammed at the same time,” Wright said, adding, “you have the Jedi knight path, Jedi master, Sith lord and sentinel.”

The Dinner Crawl is meant to be enjoyed at the pace that participants prefer, whether that means visiting every participating business or going to two or three favorites.

After the prospective Jedis’— or Sith lords’ — fates are sealed, they will begin on their dining journey starting at one of eight participating eateries.

Those participating businesses include: Gobi’s Coffee Bar, Sid’s Gourmet Smoke N’ Grill, Ollie’s Brooklyn Slices Pizza, SnoBall Mini Donuts, Luncheonette, Grape Street Bar and Grill, Kahlo Exotic Grill and Seoul Stix Korean Corndogs.

While each location will offer free samples of their “Star Wars” themed food, participants will also receive discounts between 10% and 25% for full meals.

Those meals include Mustafar Melts (grilled cheese quarters) from Luncheonette, the Hen Solo (fried or grilled chicken sandwich) from Grape Street Bar and Grill and Admiral Akbar Bites from Kahlo Exotic Grill just to name a few.

The intent of the event is to not only celebrate “Star Wars” on May 4 — informally known as “Star Wars” day — but to shine a light on some of Medford’s new and less well known eateries, a key focus from Grub Quests as a whole.

“The purpose of Grub Quests is to let people know about the places to eat and enjoy, especially ones that are not on Google,” Wright said. “It’s a fun resource that lets people know where to go and helps local businesses grow and succeed.”

Wright started Grub Quests in 2023 after moving to the Rogue Valley in 2020. She works to provide a list of tasty spots to check out not only in Southern Oregon, but also in parts of California and Nevada.

“When I moved here, I didn’t know much about town, and even once COVID passed, people said there were no good places to eat; I didn’t like that answer,” Wright said. “As the name says, I went on grub quests to find places … and I went on my own little quests to find these spots and do landing page with all of that info.”

Wright plans to not only continue providing lists of some of the Rogue Valley’s best restaurants, but to continue the “Star Wars” Dinner Crawl and expand her content into the Grub Quests Podcast series in the coming weeks.

To learn more, visit grubquests.com.

Grub Quests is also active on Instagram at instagram.com/grubquests.

For more information on the May the 4th Dinner Crawl, visit maythe4thdinnercrawl.ticketleap.com/may-the-4th-dinner-crawl-2024.