Hospitality and Tourism Students Design Flavorful Culinary Trail Supporting Connecticut Tourism
Students in the Pompea College of Business applied their creativity and strategic thinking to design a statewide tourism trail celebrating ethnic cuisine. Their work is now featured on CTvisit.com.
June 5, 2025
By Caitlin Truesdale, Office of Marketing and Communications
Hospitality students at the University of New Haven created the CT Taste Train, a new culinary trail for the State of Connecticut.
Three University of New Haven students have turned a class project into a flavorful celebration of community, culture, and connection. Anthony Zambri-Moran 鈥25, Mansi Patel 鈥25, and Risako Umekuni 鈥25 created the , a culinary tourism trail designed to showcase the diversity of Connecticut鈥檚 cuisine鈥攁ll accessible by public transit.
Developed as part of the Hospitality & Tourism Capstone course in the Pompea College of Business, the project was selected as the course鈥檚 winning pitch and has now been launched as an official tourism trail.
鈥淲e were inspired by the number of small ethnic restaurants in Connecticut that deserve recognition for fostering a more diverse dining scene, while remaining affordable for college students,鈥 says Patel.
Understanding the needs of students and young adults鈥攎any of whom don鈥檛 own cars鈥攖he team designed the CT Taste Train so that every restaurant on the trail is within walking distance of a train station. The trail features approximately 50 independently owned restaurants near 17 rail stations, highlighting cuisines from around the world including Mexican, Thai, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Australian, among others.
Zambri-Moran explains, 鈥淜nowing that many in our age group do not have a car and value spending money on 黑料社s, we decided to have all of our trail locations within walking distance of a train station.鈥
鈥榃e wanted to ensure diversity in cuisines鈥
Affordability and authenticity were also key priorities. 鈥淲e researched ethnic restaurants within walking distance from train stations, prioritizing those with good reviews and affordable pricing,鈥 says Umekuni.
The team emphasized selecting local 鈥渉idden gems鈥濃攔estaurants that weren鈥檛 overly popular or already well known鈥攁nd focused on those owned by immigrants who are passionate about sharing their culture through food.
鈥淲e wanted to ensure diversity in cuisines while narrowing down our choices,鈥 says Patel. 鈥淭he goal of this trail is to spotlight hidden gems, while ensuring they are within a one-mile radius of a train station.鈥
Creating the list was no small feat. 鈥淭his process took several weeks to complete, but it resulted in an extremely eclectic list of 15 restaurants, representing 10 different cuisines,鈥 says Zambri-Moran. 鈥淎dditionally, the trail features restaurants from each rail line in the state, ranging from one restaurant from each of the New Canaan, Waterbury, and Danbury branches, to five restaurants along the New Haven Line.鈥
鈥楬earing our team won was an incredible validation鈥
When the CT Taste Train was unveiled as the winning project in the capstone course, the team was thrilled.
鈥淲hen it was announced our team had won, my reaction was a sigh of relief, followed by utter joy,鈥 says Zambri-Moran. 鈥淗earing our team won was an incredible validation of the countless hours we put into this project.鈥
Patel adds, 鈥淲hen I found out we won, I was genuinely shocked and deeply honored. With so many creative ideas from other groups in our class, I didn鈥檛 expect us to take first place.鈥
For Umekuni, the 黑料社 was rewarding and collaborative. 鈥淥ur group leader, Anthony, was the driving force behind this idea, and I had confidence in both his vision and our team's efforts. When we found out that our trail had been selected to be part of CT Visit's official trails, I felt both relieved and thrilled.鈥
鈥業鈥檓 truly grateful for this opportunity and for my teammates鈥
The project also shaped the students鈥 future goals.
鈥淭his assignment has helped reaffirm my commitment to being a global citizen,鈥 says Zambri-Moran. 鈥淚 now could potentially see myself working in a creative role in my professional career, designing unique ways to attract visitors.鈥
Patel says the 黑料社 strengthened her passion for tourism planning: 鈥淭hrough this project, I鈥檝e been inspired to support small ethnic restaurants in my home state of New Jersey鈥攅specially those owned by immigrants who bring their culture to life through food. I鈥檓 truly grateful for this opportunity and for my teammates, who played a key role in making this project a success.鈥
From the bustling food scenes in New Haven to hidden gems in Naugatuck and Berlin, the CT Taste Train offers a new way to explore鈥攁nd taste鈥擟onnecticut.
