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, March 21 – 23, and brought more than 10,000 restaurant owners and operators together in-person.
The event attendance is a 19 percent increase over 2021 attendance, and restaurant attendance grew nearly 10 percent 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 (formerly known as Nightclub & Bar Show) aligns with the fast-moving hospitality industry and broadens the breadth and depth of the audience of the expo to include food buyers, food and beverage directors, food distributors, chefs, as well as other key stakeholders within the foodservice sector.
For the second year in a row, Bar & Restaurant Expo was co-located with Questex’s World Tea Conference + Expo, which celebrated its 20th anniversary. The event 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.
“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,” said Tim McLucas, vice president of the Bar & Restaurant Group at Questex. “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 also presented a $5,000 check to its 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 2022 winners can be found here.
Plan to Attend or Participate in
Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 27-29, 2023
To learn about the latest trends, issues and hot topics, and to experience and taste the best products within the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry, plan to attend Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 27-29, 2023 in Las Vegas. Visit BarandRestaurantExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at Bar & Restaurant Expo, contact:
Veronica Gonnello
(for companies A to G)
e: [email protected]
p: 212-895-8244
Tim Schultz
(for companies H to Q)
e: [email protected]
p: (917) 258-8589
Fadi Alsayegh
(for companies R to Z)
e: [email protected]
p: 917-258-5174
Also, be sure to follow Bar & Restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest industry news and trends.