A fun and tasty event will return to downtown Fort Dodge Friday. Main Street Fort Dodge is orchestrating Lunch on Central from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This will be a new version of what used to be called Lunch on the Square. Instead of being held on the City Square, it will be in the alley between The Messenger building and the Webster County Courthouse in the 700 block of Central Avenue.

The name and location have changed, but the goal remains the same.

That goal is to get more people to come downtown to enjoy a festive lunch hour and also spend some time in the shops that are revitalizing the traditional commercial heart of the city.

There will be three Lunch on Central gatherings this summer. The first is Friday. The others will be on the last Fridays of July and August.

The cost of the meal is $8. Friday’s menu is a grilled beef patty, pasta salad, potato chips, monster cookie and bottled water.

Money raised from Lunch on Central will go toward funding free and low-cost future events downtown.

The sponsors of this week’s lunch are Candies & More, KD’s Over the Moon, Edward Jones – Gabe Pettit, The Green Dragon Book Shop, Luminess Spa and Candle Co. LLC, Mary Kay’s Gifts & Home Decor, The Dariette and Rush Hour Clothing.

The Messenger enthusiastically supports Lunch on Central. We urge our readers to make plans to join in the fun Friday. This promises to be a great way to grab a tasty lunch and enjoy being outdoors on a fine summer day. It’s also an opportunity to get reacquainted with downtown Fort Dodge if you haven’t spent time there lately.

And after this Friday, we suspect you’ll want add to your calendar noontime on the last Friday of July and August. Lunch on Central is something not to be missed.