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QuickTake:
Nearly 41,000 members share information and opinions about food in an active Facebook group founded 16 years ago.
What started as a casual idea while a couple was watching the Food Network in 2009 has grown into one of Eugene’s most influential online communities, connecting tens of thousands of people with local restaurants, food carts and each other.
Chris and Kathy Calise, who have been married since 1997, founded the Eugene Foodies! group on Facebook after hearing someone on television referred to as a “New York foodie.”
“We said, ‘We should have Eugene foodies,’” Chris Calise said, so they started a blog. The blog didn’t pick up much of an audience, so they turned to Facebook.
The Eugene Foodies! group hovered along at about 350 members for several months, then slowly started to grow. When they had 1,000 members, the Calises hosted their first group potluck, in 2011, at Petersen Barn. Word spread quickly, and the group burgeoned to 3,000 members.
Now, 14 years later, the Facebook group boasts nearly 41,000 members. The Calises moderate nearly 900 posts per month from members, on all topics related to local food, from food establishment openings and closings, menu likes and dislikes, events and home-cooked meals.
“I think we’re making a difference in the community and in the food community,” Kathy Calise said. “We’ve supported an industry where everybody’s worked so hard, and we’ve created a place where people can say how great something was or provide feedback that restaurants don’t otherwise get.”
Wylie Nowack has been a member since 2017. He posts restaurant-quality photos of the food he makes, but many other members proudly share photos of their everyday homemade meals, produce from their garden, and meals they get from restaurants and food carts.
“I post with this group because they are welcoming and don’t allow rude behavior towards others,” Nowack said. “They have always been welcoming to what I post but also to other posts that aren’t as polished.”
Moderating the group is a daily commitment, and the Calises aren’t paid to manage Eugene Foodies! The couple also are involved in the food scene in other ways. They organize the judges for the annual Food for Lane County benefit event Chefs’ Night Out, and both are active with Burrito Brigade, where Kathy serves as the board president and Chris volunteers and helps with strategic planning.
The Calises both retired in 2021. (Chris traveled the world as a medical equipment professional for Philips Healthcare, and Kathy was program director of health careers for Lane Community College’s Continuing Education program.) Chris estimates he spends about an hour in the morning monitoring Eugene Foodies!, then he checks it throughout the day. In one recent 28-day period, he calculated that the group generated 877 posts, 8,100 comments and 39,000 reactions.
The Calises have developed strict guidelines to keep conversations civil and focused on food and not drama, while also encouraging discourse. Restaurants can post to advertise themselves only once per month. Posts with more than 50 responses get closed to comments to keep the feed flowing. And five years ago, after tensions during the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to derail the group’s positive atmosphere, the two moderators switched to a post approval process.
“I’m like the traffic cop,” Chris said. “I want everybody to get a chance with their posts.”
His tough approach has sometimes drawn criticism from members who feel the rules are too restrictive, but the Calises are unapologetic.
“It’s my group,” Chris said, noting matter-of-factly that several spinoff groups have formed in protest but none have achieved the same level of engagement.
The group’s influence extends beyond online conversations. The couple started a Thursday Night Supper Club with fellow administrator Sherry McCutchen to highlight the meals they have at local restaurants. And the potluck has turned into an annual tradition in the summer, typically drawing 50 to 75 people. Restaurant owners and chefs regularly monitor Eugene Foodies!, with some reporting that their entire staff takes notice when the Calises walk through the door.
“We’ve had restaurant owners say to us, ‘Oh my gosh, Eugene Foodies! are in the house,’” Kathy said. “We’re not pretentious, we’re not food critics, but we do try to be honest.”
The group has helped launch and sustain numerous local food businesses. Food carts that started by connecting with the community through Eugene Foodies! have transitioned to brick-and-mortar restaurants. To give additional publicity to the food carts, the Calises created a separate Facebook group, Eugene Food Carts, which allows daily posting to promote mobile food businesses, and has grown to 18,400 members.
The couple’s original mission focused on promoting farm-to-table dining using Lane County’s abundance of produce at a time when few local chefs were embracing that trend. The Calises supported early adopters of local food such as Adam’s Place as well as Lane Community College’s culinary program and its 100-mile meals. In 2010, they challenged themselves to eat within 100 miles of Eugene for more than a year, which was one motivation for creating the Eugene Foodies! group.
Beyond Eugene Foodies!, the Calises see their volunteer efforts to support local restaurants and their food rescue work as essential to building community. Through the Facebook group, they’ve created a space where home cooks share recipes, new restaurants or food carts build their customer base, and established chefs receive real-time feedback. The annual potluck brings online connections to life with homemade dishes and occasional appearances by local chefs testing new recipes.
“We really want the group to be fun, and we’re here to support,” Chris said. “The whole idea is to build community and make people feel connected to their local food scene.”