2010 CRFA Show: More buzz, more business
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2010
TORONTO – Once again, Canada’s largest hospitality event attracted thousands of restaurant operators looking for new ideas and solutions. Held at the Direct Energy Centre, March 7 to 9, the 2010 CRFA Show drew 12,585 visitors – a 5% increase over 2009.
“The CRFA Show’s growing popularity reflects its sheer magnitude and all that it has to offer the restaurant and foodservice industry – new products, ideas and innovations, as well as the chance to network with colleagues,” says Garth Whyte, President and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
New at the show this year was the Technomic Foodservice Trends & Directions conference. Originally scheduled for 100 people, this executive conference was moved to a bigger venue to accommodate 185 participants.
CRFA Show attendees had the opportunity to sample food, drink and services at more than 1,200 exhibitor booths. Also on tap were cocktail and cooking demos by seven master mixologists and 12 leading Canadian chefs, as well as 16 seminars by industry experts.
Exhibitors respond enthusiastically:
“The show was even better for us than last year and the quality was extremely high. I saw VIPs from chains that we have are not seen in years. Many prospects were just opening or planning new ventures, and many visitors were ready to make a purchase decision.” – Ken Locke, Russell Food Equipment
“We printed an invoice every three minutes consistently for the entire show. That is a 23% increase from last year. We also had over 2,000 people through our booth -- another record.” – Lorne Gaffe, Hamilton Store Fixtures
“We opened more then 20 new accounts at the CRFA Show with lots of follow up on new potential accounts as well. We could not be happier with our outcome at the show.” – Bill Moffat, Want Beverages
“Overall, the show was very good for us. It felt like numbers were up substantially over last year. Some very high quality people came through, more than in previous years.” – Claudio Baldinelli, Alto-Shaam
Coming up next:
Next stop on the show circuit is ApEx in Halifax, April 18 – 19, followed closely by the BC Foodservice Expo in Vancouver, April 25 – 26.
Next year’s CRFA Show will return to Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre, March 6 – 8, 2011.
CRFA is one of Canada’s largest business associations, with 33,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada’s foodservice industry employs more than one million people in communities across the country.
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