Results tagged “tradeshow”

          

This past weekend, Chicagoist visited the trade show of the National Restaurant Association and its sister convention, the International Wine, Beer and Spirits Event. Despite the downturn in the economy, the convention was still hopping, filled with new products, new packaging, extravagant pavilions and thousands of companies hoping to sell the “next big thing” in food service. You’ll be seeing products and companies that we met up with at NRA featured over the next several months but for now, here are a few notes from a first-time attendee.

The annual National Restaurant Association trade show, beginning tomorrow at McCormick Place, serves two primary purposes. It's a showcase for new products tailored for the restaurant and food service industries. From point-of-sale systems and cookware to beverage dispensers and entertainment systems, NRA Show 2009 is one of the best places to find customers for the latest hot thing.

Even with less people dining out these days, the National Restaurant Association is projecting a 4.4 percent increase in sales for the restaurant industry this year, to an estimated $558 billion.