Hell’s Kitchen Season 21 Winner Alex Belew recently worked with Visit Clarksville to help promote the city’s “surprising” culinary scene.
Featured in a series of videos for Visit Clarksville’s YouTube and Instagram channels, Belew is a Murfreesboro resident whose wife attended Austin Peay State University. His long history with food evolved into teaching, opening a restaurant, and winning numerous competitions, including Season 21 of Hell’s Kitchen which began airing in September 2022.
“Clarksville may not be known as a place for foodies, but I’m here to prove that wrong,” Belew says in an opening video.
The promotional campaign includes a food itinerary, showcasing specific menu items for breakfast, lunch and dinner at three Clarksville restaurants: Wild Flour Bake Shop, Legends Smokehouse Grill and Dock 17. See the compilation video and individual restaurant videos on Visit Clarksville’s YouTube Channel (YouTube.com/VisitClarksvilleTN) in the “Bites & Sips” playlist.
Direct links to all four videos are:
Breakfast at Wild Flour Bake Shop
Lunch at Legends Smokehouse & Grill
The campaign will launch in October and reach target prospective travelers and foodies in a 250-mile radius.
“Our food campaigns have always performed exceptionally well, but we’ve always focused on an overall food scene experience and not specific restaurants, chefs or food,” said Visit Clarksville Executive Director Theresa Harrington. “We decided to leverage ARPA grant funds for a different type of campaign. Our video production partner, New South Creative, had a relationship with Alex, and he was close by, so it was a great fit.”
“Food can be a major deciding factor when selecting a travel destination,” said Visit Clarksville Chairman Jerry Allbert. “Most people want to experience local or off-the-beaten-path places that are unique to where they’re visiting. We are fortunate to have such a good variety of locally owned, high-quality, and affordable restaurants that help create a fantastic experience for our visitors. Like Alex, visitors are often surprised by the diversity of food offerings in a city our size.”
About Visit Clarksville
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Tourism Commission was established by the State of Tennessee in 1979 to positively influence tourism in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area by promoting tourist attractions, hosting conventions and group tours, and engaging in large-scale marketing efforts. In 2015, the organization adopted the Visit Clarksville brand. Visit Clarksville is governed by a nine-member board of directors and is funded by a portion of the local hotel-motel tax. In 2022, tourism spending in Montgomery County totaled $371 million, according to an annual report from the US Travel Association, Tourism Economics, and U.S. Census Bureau.
About Alex Belew
Chef Alex Belew grew up in the South, spending many weekends in his grandmother’s kitchen in Rover, Tenn., helping her make buttermilk biscuits and boiled custard. He graduated with Honors from The Art Institute of Tennessee in Nashville, then worked in some of the top kitchens in Nashville, including Husk by Sean Brock. He created the top culinary program in Tennessee with his students winning the prestigious NRA Prostart Championship in 2014 at Blackman High School. Among his many culinary accolades is being named winner on Hell’s Kitchen Season 21.
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