NEW YORK – The New York Restaurant Show, formerly the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York and newly acquired by Restaurant Events, LLC, saw a 29% attendance increase in 2024, with more than 8,000 attendees visiting the Javits Center March 3-5.
Restaurant Events, LLC CEO and Founder of The Pizza Tomorrow Summit Glenn Celentano attributes this growth to marketing for first-time attendees, and enhanced educational programming.
New Attendee Marketing
Responding to a dip in attendance caused by COVID-19, the show’s marketing team “really leaned into a lot of new programs, and automation, and ways to vet out new resources to really drive new audiences… and that worked out really well,” Celentano said, adding that 51% of the show’s professional attendees were new in 2024.
Additionally, Celentano shared that the show’s new partner, the New York Hospitality Alliance “helped drive a whole new audience for us through their membership and their reach.”
The show collaborated with the New York Hospitality Alliance and its other partner, the New York State Restaurant Association, on its educational programming, using their industry experience to create actionable, modern content to attract attendees.
Enhanced Education
Celentano explained that the expo worked to provide practical, relevant solutions for the issues restaurant owners struggle with, such as AI technology to alleviate staffing shortages, that they could “learn today, and do tomorrow.”
“The program drove a lot of people to register,” Celentano said. “Every seat was full… I felt, seeing all of that, mission accomplished.”
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New Ownership and Rebranding
Restaurant Events, LLC acquired the show from Clarion Events in 2023, and rebranded it from the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York to the New York Restaurant Show, its original title.
Celentano announced the rebranding in his opening remarks at the show, and the event’s new logo was revealed as Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played.
“This is a New York Show,” Celentano said. “The core of this thing is New York, and it needs to be named as such… We’re back to our roots.”
According to Celentano, Restaurant Events, LLC brought “a personal touch” to the event and “put a high, high priority on superior customer service. We’re able to do that because we only have a handful of shows. We take the time to educate our exhibitors on how to be successful… It just hits different, because they are made to feel like they matter.”
The next New York Restaurant Show is scheduled for March 23-25, 2025, and will expand into a second hall.
“Our expectation is that we’re going to continue to grow aggressively over the next couple of years. We’re really excited to take that ride,” Celentano stated.
Glenn Celentano will speak at Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 Education Summit, taking place May 9 during the Fastest 50 Awards & Summit at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Reach Glenn Celentano at glenn@pizzatomorrow.com
Photo Credit: New York Restaurant Show
