Emanuel to Ask "Core Questions" Regarding Future of Taste

With the news out that this year's Taste of Chicago lost money in its first year under Park District control and saw lower attendance and ticket sales, Mayor Emanuel, in his best politic-speak, said yesterday that his administration will look at how to improve running the festival ~~so that the city isn't stuck with the red ink~~.

Per the Sun-Times.

“We’ll ask some core questions,’’ Emanuel said Tuesday, two days after the Taste ended. “ . . . We will ask questions about how to do it better, but not [about] whether we should” continue to hold it.

Whether that vague statement means that the city will re-open next year's Taste to private bidding is too soon to tell. Former Mayor Daley solicited bids to privatize Taste last year, only to shelve that idea when the sole contractor wanted to charge admission fees. Former Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg has said the idea of privatizing Taste of Chicago while still charging free admission was a "mistake."

More vendors are sharing their stories of the lower attendance and ticket sales while wondering about the Park District's management. Robinson's No. 1 Ribs owner Charlie Robinson said his sales fell by 30-40 percent this year. Robinson also expressed concern over the lack of entertainment (which contradicts Daley's February assertion that Taste is "about the food") and this years shorter hours for the fest. Taste closed at 8:30 on the weeknights, a half-hour sooner than last year; the Park District didn't allow attendees into the festival until 11 a.m. and Taste closed at 6 p.m. Sunday.

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By Chuck Sudo in News on July 6, 2011 9:00 AM

Comments [rss]

irritablevowel

Probably a combination of factors caused the numbers to drop. I'm sure the constant media coverage of roving mobs of violent hooligans, during the month prior to the taste, didn't help.

Prescott Carlson

I would imagine the 4th of July was generally a largely attended day in the past, so they lost out on those numbers as well this year.

Navin_Johnson

Robinson said reduced hours and the lack of big-name entertainment and a
July 3 fireworks show — plus the still-lagging economy — all
contributed to the poor turnout.

At its peak, the Taste — which started in 1980 — drew 3.6 million
visitors in 2006 and 2007. But last year, after the July 3 fireworks
show at Grant Park was canceled, it drew just 2.65 million people.

Just before the financial crash......

ChicagoD

I hope one of the core questions is why they insist on not charging admission, but only allowing tickets to be exchanged for food. Make admission $10, for which you get $5 or $6 worth of food tickets. Create weekday "lunch special" deals if you need to. It will cut down on the sweaty gawkers and thugs and not have any real impact on people there to try the food. I don't know how else to rebuild a festival that millions of Chicago-area residents would never CONSIDER going to.

As for Lois Weisberg's recommendation . . . she had her couple of decades in charge. The Taste today is what it is. Apparently it is not working. No reason to be beholden to the plan from 30 years ago.

Nicholas

Profits from wilding were also down about 50 percent on that day.

twocee

It seems to me that the first thing to do is compare the ticket sales from July 3rd of 2010 to July 3rd of 2011. Taste lost about half a million potential customers that day alone since there was no other reason to go downtown. Suburbanites had their own fireworks shows to go to, rather than trek down to the Chicago lakefront. I think that's where the bulk of the lost sales came from -- not the lack of entertainment or closing half an hour early.

ophmarketing

There were no July 3 fireworks at Taste last year either.

twocee

But there were still fireworks downtown on the last night of Taste. They were moved from the normal Grant Park extravaganza, but they were easily accessible to those who wanted to combine a trip to Taste and a 4th (3rd) of July fireworks show. This year, there were NO fireworks anywhere along the lake.