Emanuel to Ask "Core Questions" Regarding Future of Taste

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 6, 2011 2:00PM

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.