The rain brought an early end to Saturday’s Taste of Suffolk event, but it held off long enough for thousands of people to get their fill of food, entertainment, a car show, contests and vendors.

“We’ve been busy,” said Harper Bradshaw of Harper’s Table. “It was a sea of people earlier in the day.”

Harper’s Table sold out of brisket early and was about to sell out of barbecue about 2 p.m., he said. That’s about the time the event was called off early because of the approaching storm.

But it lasted long enough for everybody to have a good time, Bradshaw said.

“It seemed like a very broad section of demographics,” he said.

Restaurants from across the city set up booths along North Main Street. Those that happen to have locations on Main or Washington streets had fenced-off areas in front of their locations. Sample-sized portions of food were for sale from about 16 restaurants.

“We had a great response,” said Melinda Powers of Suffolk BBQ Co. Barbecue in various forms — including in quesadillas and spread over cheese fries — was up for sale at her booth.

The cupcake theme at Plaid Turnip proved popular. The Main Street eatery sold meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato “frosting” and cornbread cupcakes with chili “frosting,” as well as miniature chicken pot pies and other delicacies.

Mosaic was serving up a smoked chicken pimento cheese biscuit, while Tammy’s Kitchen was offering comfort food like ribs, wings and macaroni and cheese.

Speaking of wings, the Buffalo Wild Wings contest drew a crowd of contestants and onlookers every time it was held throughout the day. Contestants were given three minutes to eat 15 of the restaurant’s spiciest wings, but the winners didn’t need that much time.

An expanded children’s area, including rides, bounce houses and a petting zoo, proved popular, as did the Suffolk Master Gardeners’ plant sale, an annual event that is a new addition to the Taste of Suffolk event.

See more photos from the event on the Suffolk News-Herald Facebook page.