A slow Sunday morning and a warm cup of coffee go hand in hand especially at Erie's Best Coffee at the Ambassador.


David Gonzalez, the Executive Director of St. Martin's Center said, "Lots of opportunities for folks to vote and pick their favorite and of course they can also buy, if they really like a particular vendor, they can buy their product product here as well."


St. Martin's Center hosts the annual event that has been going on for seven years that benefits their non-profit and the resources they provide to the community.


 As Gonzalez explained, "We provide assistance education and training to both children and adults, but not just to help them be stable but really to thrive."


The event also led to networking opportunities for coffee owners with customers and other shops. "Our area is just inundated with new coffee shops blooming and restaurants and I think the atmosphere in Erie is really transforming and embracing this change. So I'm excited to be a part of it and I love collaborating with all of the businesses. We find new vendors partners so this is an exciting time, for not just people to come and try a coffee, but it's an exciting time for the owners to meet each other", said Gisele Littrell, the owner of Tipsy Bean.


People could sample different coffee from different vendors. Some are new and some are returning vendors, coming back year after year. But, vendors said the goal is the same, not only support St. Martin Center, but get their cups of coffee into the hand's of people who might not have tried it before.


This was the first time Zodiac Dinor had a table at the event and they hoped it would encourage more business at their location on state street.
Gabriella Golbmbiewski, from the Zodiac Dinor explained, "For us to gain some new clientele because a lot of people don't know that we're even open sometimes because we're only open 8 to 1. So sometimes people drive by, they think we're closed just because like they come by later in the evening, so it's just a good way to show people that we still are open and show what we have to offer."


In addition to sampling the different types of coffee, people could vote on their favorite. There was also a judge's competition as well.