Southern Park Mall in Boardman hosted a new Italian event Sunday night, bringing together restaurants in the Valley as well as the community. Ten local Italian restaurants brought their best to the first Sunday Sauce Showdown — a new event to determine who has the best sauce in the Valley. Restaurants have been busy preparing for the event.

“We brought just our traditional red sauce. That’s our specialty. It’s what we make from scratch. We put a lot of love into it,” said Michael Romeo, owner of Carchedi’s Cafe. Each sauce was presented to a panel of celebrity judges. They voted on who had the best Alfredo, Bolognese, Marinara, Specialty and Vodka sauce.