The Story of Key West Food Tours with Founder Annalise Smith (47)

Annalise Smith is the founder of Key West Food Tours, rated #1 for food tours in Key West on Tripadvisor. Annalise sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared the origin story and mission of Key West Food Tours with us.

Key West Food Tours was founded in 2014 to offer visitors of Key West a taste of authentic local culinary experiences while providing historical anecdotes

Initially, Annalise wanted to invite people to her Cuban grandmother's home to enjoy an authentic Cuban family dining experience.

The City said no to Annalise's tour business idea because of health codes. That lead Annalise to explore the world of food tours. That was the catalyst behind Key West Food Tours. In this conversation, Annalise shares her marketing strategies with us for her food tours and she reveals how she overcame resistance from restaurants who did not see the benefit of being a part of a food tour.