THE EXPO HALL OPENS TO KICK OFF DAY TWO OF 2024 BAR & RESTAURANT EXPO
Today, Tuesday, March 19, Bar & Restaurant Expo celebrated a successful day two of the annual event, which marked the official opening of this year’s expo floor where owners and operators were given exclusive access to over 500 exhibitors. Excited attendees flooded the expo floor following a red carpet and special ribbon cutting ceremony led by renowned mixologist and keynote speaker, Julie Reiner.
Reiner cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially open the expo floor alongside Bar & Restaurant Group Vice President Tim McLucas. Celebrities, honored guests and chefs, including celebrity mixologist Mia Mastroianni, celebrity chef Brian Duffy, co-founder of Spirits in Motion, Phil Wills and more, graced the red-carpet to kick off the expo. McLucas presented Jill Chapman and Emily Gorman, representatives of the expo’s official charity partner, CORE (Children of Restaurant Employees), with a $5,000 donation on behalf of the expo. The expo organizers also presented two students pursuing a career in the beverage & culinary field at Johnson & Wales University, John Owen and Karina Rodriguez Casas, with a $1,250 fellowship grant.
Before leading the ribbon cutting ceremony, Reiner also delivered a powerful keynote session, entitled “Liquid Assets – Turning Your Venue into a Profit Powerhouse.” In keeping with this year’s motif of “unlocking profit potential,” Reiner helped attendees discover how to transform their venues with the goal of boosting the bottom line. She shared her tips and tricks for creating successful partnerships, building a team, creating strong brand identities and more.
Once open, the expo boasted several brand-new activations like the Pizza Zone, sponsored by Parpan, showcasing the hottest trends from unique artisanal toppings to innovative crusts, the Cocktail Clubhouse, a dynamic and captivating space exclusively designed for owners, operators and bartenders passionate about pushing the boundaries of beverage creation, and the Italian Aperitivo Showcase. The Japanese Food & Beverage Showcase also returned to the expo floor for its second year, highlighting an exciting mix of Japanese products, flavors and globally renowned specialties.
Exciting live demos by popular chefs like Brian Duffy, Tori Lubecki, Aaron Fish and more, also look place on the expo floor, where each chef made a delicious dish for guests to sample.
The third and final day of the Bar & Restaurant Expo returns tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. with additional workshops and conference sessions, award ceremonies honoring the best in the industry, live food demos and more. The expo floor opens at 12:00 p.m.
For a full schedule of daily events, visit the Bar & Restaurant Expo website.
About Bar & Restaurant Expo
Bar & Restaurant Expo has continued to evolve and mirror the fast-paced, trend-setting nature of the hospitality industry. The event has been providing the specific tools that bar and restaurant owners, operators, and managers need to grow their businesses, compete, and succeed in this hyper-competitive and dynamic industry. The Bar & Restaurant Group is part of the Questex Travel & Hospitality Division and also produces World Tea News, World Tea Academy, as well as Bar & Restaurant Expo, Bar & Restaurant News, and Vibe Conference.
About Questex
Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: travel, hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare; and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy – connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here.