Meet the Vespa-riding muse driving a LWB culinary renaissance

“Find Your Flavor,” part of a $260,000 CRA marketing campaign, serves up downtown Lake Worth Beach as a dining destination

New mural that’s about to go up on the rear, alley-facing north wall of a vacant building at 728 Lake Avenue. The mural is part of a new public campaign aimed at promoting Lake Worth Beach as a dining destination. (Courtesy of Jacober Creative for the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency

CALLING ALL FOODIES: Keep an eye out for the woman on the mint green Vespa.

Towing oversized pieces of food, she’s been turning heads this summer as the face of a new publicly-funded culinary campaign promoting downtown Lake Worth Beach as a dining destination.

Launched in May, “Find your Flavor, Find it Downtown” is the first major phase of a broader marketing effort by the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to give an economic boost to a city that could use one.

The CRA has turned to an outside company for help in attracting visitors and investors, hiring the Miami Beach branding agency Jacober Creative for a one-year $260,000 contract.

As an appetizer to a main campaign that will be unveiled later this year, Jacober launched “Find your Flavor” to help drive customers to downtown bars, cafes and restaurants.

The initiative is built around the image of “a girl racing through town hauling oversized bits and towering plates in tow, a real metaphor for the abundance of what’s waiting for somebody downtown,’’ said Paul Jacober, the firm’s creative director.

Street pole banner on Lucerne Avenue promoting the CRA’s campaign to drive customers to Lake Worth Beach restaurants. (JOE CAPOZZI)

The branding can be seen on street banners, window decals, table tent cards in restaurants, postcards and a wrapped Circuit car, along with social media reels and a dedicated website.

Soon, she’ll be seen on a larger-than-life mural, on the alley-facing north wall of a vacant building owned by investor Bhavin Shah, at 728 Lake Avenue at the northeast corner of J Street.

“This is just fantastic,’’ CRA board member Drew Bartlett said when Jacober unveiled the campaign in May.

“It just feels (like) Lake Worth, too. It’s a little eclectic. It just feels very right,’’ he said. “The bouncing Vespa is perfect.’’

Looking south on J Street at the back of a Lake Avenue building that will soon be covered by a mural promoting the CRA’s “Find Your Flavor, Find it Downtown” campaign. (JOE CAPOZZI)

The culinary campaign targets not just visitors and potential investors but also city residents who may not be aware of Lake Worth Beach’s different dining options.

“It’s an invitation to see downtown with fresh eyes,” Jacober said.

Under city code, public murals are not supposed to function as commercial signs. The “Find Your Flavor” mural contains “no commercial messages…specific to any local business,’’ city staff said in approving the mural, which was originally planned for the west-facing wall of the Zoo Gym building at 824 Lake Ave.

“The mural is intended to promote downtown Lake Worth Beach as a whole and to encourage both locals and visitors to explore what the area has to offer,’’ the staff memo said.

“Find your Flavor” will also include videos promoting individual restaurants.

“The initiative is helping spread awareness to multiple concepts and businesses throughout the town that I didn’t even know existed,’’ said Alex Dupuis, owner of Pomona, the popular Lake Avenue restaurant that’s throwing a one-year anniversary party July 26.

“They are taking their time to get to know our brands and concepts. It’s a great thing,’’ she said.

Jacober is also helping the CRA with a vacant storefront initiative aimed at sprucing up shuttered storefronts: Images of Lake Worth Beach landmarks and sites have been reproduced on decals that can be affixed to the windows of vacant shops.

Now, brown paper or plastic covers those windows.

Renderings of decals in the CRA’s vacant storefront initiative. (LAKE WORTH BEACH CRA)

The “cling” images are free to shop owners, CRA Director Joan Oliva said, with a goal to “cover as many windows as possible.’’

The long-range plan is to fill those vacant storefronts with new businesses.

So far, the Jacober campaign has won rave reviews from CRA board members.

“It’s great. I like the movement. I like the creativity,’’ said Donna Kerner.

“It is a great reminder not only to our residents but the general public and the communities that surround us that there is a lot to look forward to here as we continue our beautification efforts, not only in the downtown but throughout the city,’’ said Richard Mahler.

“I like it, especially coupled with the vacant storefront decals,’’ said Leah Foertsch. “Anything that celebrates the downtown and who we are is a great thing.’’