NYC's Vendy Awards To End This Fall After 15 Years

NEW YORK — It's the end-y of the Vendys. The Vendy Awards, the annual competition honoring New York City's street food vendors, will turn off its grill this fall after 15 years, organizers announced Monday.

Twenty-five cooks will vie for the Vendy Cup on Governors Island at the final event on Sept. 21, according to the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, the competition's organizer.

Since their launch with just four vendors in 2005, the Vendys have grown into a major platform for street food from across the five boroughs, with more than 2,000 people sampling eats at last year's event.

"We’re proud to say that the Vendys have become as iconic as New York street food itself," Sean Basinski, the Street Vendor Project's co-director, said in a statement. "They have paved the way for a whole new food landscape in New York City, in which vendors are now an integral part of every community and every borough."

Organizers say the Vendys have achieved their mission of celebrating the Big Apple's diverse street food scene, citing the presence of weekly markets around the city.

The finalists for last year's awards included a wide range of cuisine, from Twister Cake's Romanian chimney cakes to Burmese Bites, which serves a traditional dish called palata.

Winding down the competition after 15 years is a way for it to "go out on a high note," Basinski told GrubStreet.

"We invite all New Yorkers to nominate their favorite cart or truck, and snag a ticket to the year’s best celebration of our city’s unparalleled curbside cuisine, for one last time," Basinski said in his statement.

Tickets for the last Vendys ever start at $100. Hungry New Yorkers can buy them here.