Ever visit a town that had more great restaurants than you had time to try?

Mya Baynes knew the feeling and decided to do something about it.

By age 16, she was guiding visitors through North Wilkesboro on the Blue Ridge Food Tours.

Along the way, there's local history and plenty of flavors to sample.

(upbeat music) - So the first food tour I have ever been on was in Pike Place Market, Seattle, and it was a really fun experience.

And kind of after that, I was fortunate enough, my family has gotten the opportunity to travel quite a bit.

And then that kind of broke the idea of, we have so many good restaurants and cool history at home, why not do it there?

(laughs) - That was in 2019.

By 2025, they had their own food tour company, Blue Ridge Food Tours.

- My mom is from Boone and my dad is from Wilkes County.

And I grew up between both of the places.

- Which is how Mya knows the streets and all they offer.

- Welcome you guys to Blue Ridge Food Tours.

- Each tour begins with a meetup and then they're off.

Today's tour is in North Wilkesboro, starting at Dom Bakeries and Pizzeria for a quick slice of pizza and more.

- 'Cause everybody likes pizza.

And the garlic flavor in the cheese pizza is very good.

- The apple cider that you're sipping on is from a local orchard, Perry Lowe Orchards.

- Yeah, and that's very refreshing.

- And also apple fritter.

- A food tour on its own is a combination of history and food as the name suggests.

But it's a walking tour where we start off at a certain stop and we go into different restaurants.

I give you a little bit of history about the town or about what you're eating.

- I've lived here 25 years and half the facts, we didn't know or we had them wrong.

- And everything is like pre-prepared all ahead of time.

So it's very in and out, very seamless.

- They visit multiple locations, but the servings are small and manageable.

Even so, expect to leave satisfied.

- I'm an eater.

So when I'm done at the end of it, yeah, you're full.

- It's only select portions that each vendor decides.

That way we can balance the whole tour and no one's rolling away by the end.

- Plus Mya sprinkles in a few stories along the way.

- Now in 1921, LS or Lucius Lowe actually founded Lowe's Hardware and it's white building, purple awning, that was the original Lowe's Hardware.

- The walking aspect of the tour serves many purposes.

- First off, it's getting people out walking, right?

So they're realizing that there's more to the city.

- Like a multi-vendor marketplace called Tripp's Mercantile.

- A little buffer in between, but also just get to see some stuff from local people.

- And some local fine dining just up the road.

(upbeat music) - Welcome you guys to 6th and Main.

I'm sure you guys are enjoying what you have in front of you.

- Which is a sample of their spicy pecan glazed chicken and a side.

- You guys go for it.

- Other than enjoying different foods, food tours are a great way to meet new people.

- We kind of get like integrated by, you know, about a couple stops into the way with the other people, get their stories.

- That's because some tours are private while others share the experience.

- Normally like two to four, which is like a single like group of people on their own is what we do.

And then it goes up to 12 people.

- Two food stops down and time for more shopping.

- Key City Antiques first opened in 1927 as Key City Furniture.

- Here you can shop for antiques and vintage finds, quench your thirst with a soda before it's off for alcoholic refreshment at the wine bar, C'est La Vienne.

- Get y'all some earrings.

- Yes.

- Oh, nice.

- So today I provided a really nice charcuterie board with a variety of fruits and nuts and cheeses and meats.

And then they had Cava, which is my best seller.

The nice thing about Cava is it goes with everything.

So it's sparkling from Spain.

- Tours last two and a half to three hours, with most of your time spent eating, drinking, enjoying each other's company and just a little walking.

- Among that time, it's only about 20 minutes or like one mile of walking actually.

Not that much walking over the course of time, but it allows you time to explore and get to know each place that we're stopping in.

- It's exercise that comes in handy in order to sample homemade oatmeal pies at Sweet Treats by Sid, and a visit to the historic Liberty Theater for buttery popcorn and more local lore.

- And when Liberty was constructed, it was something that was very special.

It was considered the latest, the greatest, the most modern theater in Western North Carolina.

- Before the last visit to an Australian-themed restaurant called The Lost Wombat, for a taste of their lawless lemonade.

- Which is moonshine and lemonade.

- And a brekkie burger.

- Which is the take on Australian breakfast, but as a burger.

- It's an action-packed tour with all kinds of hometown flavor, courtesy of local restaurants, businesses, and Mya.

- Mya, especially, she brings the energy.

- I'm amazed of the clientele that she brings in and the enthusiasm.

- She really does, she brings a lot to the tour.

She brings the research history.

- She describes it, she's very eloquent.

- The experiences, the memories that you have with the people, that's what lasts.

So that's kind of what inspired this idea, 'cause it gives them a new outlook on the area.

- The Blue Ridge Food Tours have offerings in both Boone and North Wilkesboro.

To learn more about their offerings and book your own culinary adventure, visit blueridgefoodtours.com.