NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Questex’s Bar & Restaurant Expo, the nation’s largest and most influential gathering of bar and restaurant owners and operators, returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center on March 21 – 23, to bring more than 10,000 restaurant owners and operators together in-person. The event attendance is a 19% increase over 2021 attendance and restaurant attendance grew nearly 10% over 2021, a strong sign of the reemerging strength of the industry after two years of struggle.
The event, now in its 36th year, included a transition to a new name, Bar & Restaurant Expo, as well as significant changes to the guest experience, including interactive booths, product experiences with real-time operator feedback and an overall immersive environment. The evolution of the brand aligns with the fast-moving hospitality industry and broadens the breadth and depth of the audience of the expo to include food buyers, food & beverage directors, food distributors, chefs, as well as other key stakeholders within the food service sector.
For the second year in a row, Bar & Restaurant Expo was co-located with Questex’s World Tea Expo, which celebrated its 20th anniversary. World Tea Expo is strongly aligned with the fast-growing non-alcoholic segment of the industry and will continue to be co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo in 2023.
Tim McLucas, Vice President of the Bar & Restaurant Group, stated, “We are thrilled to have hosted a very successful event, and the first under our new name Bar & Restaurant Expo and back to a pre-pandemic format, which included our opening night kick-off party. Our expansion into the Restaurant category has already significantly increased the number of restaurants participating, and enhanced the education program. It is clear from the rapid growth in our attendance numbers since 2021 that the industry is now back to business and eager to leverage this new growth opportunity.”
The three-day expo featured 350 exhibitors and over 80 conference sessions with industry professionals, as well as an interactive Restaurant Zone, Sports Bar, Bistro Restaurant, Food & Beverage Innovation Center, a variety of educational workshops, bootcamps, product launches and keynote presentations.
Bar & Restaurant Expo presented a $5,000 check to the official charity partner of the year, Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE), which is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing relief to those effected by disasters around the globe. Bar & Restaurant Expo also generously donated a sizable amount of food that went unused at this year’s expo to Nevada’s largest food bank, Three Square.
The 2022 Industry Excellence Awards ceremony, presented by expo sponsor sunday, were designed to recognize, celebrate, and support the people who make the independent bar and restaurant industry great. A full list of the extraordinary 2022 winners can be found here.
Bar & Restaurant Expo will return to Las Vegas March 27-29, 2023. For more information, click here.
About Bar & Restaurant Expo
Bar & Restaurant Expo, formerly known as Nightclub & Bar Show, has continued to evolve to 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 a division of the Questex Hospitality Group which also produces Vibe Conference, World Tea Conference + Expo, and daily content on barandrestaurant.com.
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.
Media Contact
Michelle Osborne
Questex
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617.219.8305