PUNTA GORDA/ENGLEWOOD BEACH, Fla. (July 10, 2020) – Punta Gorda has been named a winner in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest in the category of Best Small Town Food Scene (No. 2). For the contest, a panel of experts, including editors from USA TODAY and 10Best.com, revealed a list of 20 nominees in the category, then gave readers four weeks to vote for their favorite.

Punta Gorda ranked No. 2 on the 10Best Small Town Food Scene list, after Abingdon, Virginia (No. 1), and is the only Florida town to make the list. The list consists of the top 10 small towns, each with a population of fewer than 25,000, which have big food scenes with chef-driven restaurants, local flavors and plenty of variety, especially given their small size.

“We are thrilled to have Punta Gorda recognized by USA TODAY’s 10Best and delighted to have been ranked in the top of the list at No. 2 for Best Small Town Food Scene,” said Sean Doherty, Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau Interim Director. “Our town boasts a bounty of unique, local flavor to share, along with an amazing roster of restaurants offering exemplary food and drink, service, ambiance and experiences. We hope to see this contribute to a strong and positive recovery for the Punta Gorda restaurants so greatly impacted by COVID-19 and help to stimulate the local economy post-crisis.”

For the full list of winners of USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and more information, visit: https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-small-town-food-scene-2020/.

For more information on Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, visit PureFlorida.com or engage with the destination on social media at @RealPureFlorida on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

ABOUT PUNTA GORDA/ENGLEWOOD BEACH
Located on Florida’s coveted Southwest Gulf Coast, halfway between Tampa and Naples, Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach is a charming collection of coastal communities surrounding the state’s second largest harbor. Florida’s premier year-round eco-tourism destination, the area offers pristine, unspoiled beauty. A haven for outdoor enthusiasts, Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach showcases a variety of vibrant experiences. From beaches to boating, hiking to harbor tours, fishing to nature discovery; to sun, shelling and fossilized sharks teeth, the destination celebrates the active traveler and lively local in search of relaxation and unlimited discovery. Most notably known for its 830 miles of pristine unparalleled shoreline, including captivating river passages, a mangrove-edged aquatic preserve and more than a dozen miles of natural Gulf beaches, the Charlotte Harbor Gulf Island Coast includes the areas of Boca Grande, Don Pedro Island, El Jobean, Englewood-Cape Haze, Little Gasparilla Island, Manasota Key, Knight Island, Placida, Babcock Ranch, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. To learn more about Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, visit PureFlorida.com or call 1-800-652-6090 or engage with the destination on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @RealPureFlorida. Looking for fast, unique destination facts? Click here.

ABOUT 10BEST.COM
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased, and experiential travel content of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world. The core of the site's uniqueness is its team of local travel experts: a well-traveled and well-educated group who are not only experts in their fields - and their cities - but discriminating in their tastes. These local experts live in the city they write about so the content is constantly updated. 10Best.com averages 5 million visitors per month. It was acquired by USA TODAY in January of 2013.

ABOUT USA TODAY
USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Through its unique visual storytelling, USA TODAY delivers high-quality and engaging content across print, digital, social and video platforms. An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation — today, tomorrow and for decades to follow. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.6 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 6.6 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than 16 million downloads on mobile devices. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).