Clarion Events North America Launches Atlanta Foodservice Expo

June 25, 2012

Clarion Events North America will launch its first new show in the United States – the Atlanta Foodservice Expo – which will serve the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industries in Georgia and the Southeast.

 

The annual show will debut Oct. 20-22, 2013, at the Georgia World Congress Center.

 

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring a focused show to a major market that will not only bring buyers and sellers together, but will also deliver a unique package of services and value,” said David Audrain, Clarion N.A.’s president.

 

He added, “This unparalleled industry event will ensure that both attendees and exhibitors achieve the maximum return on investment.”

 

Audrain has a background in the foodservice industry, having spent almost a decade as an executive at the Texas Restaurant Association during which time he managed the Southwest Foodservice Expo.

 

Besides a showfloor, the Atlanta Foodservice Expo also will offer a conference program at no cost for attendees, as well as high-level conference programming to members of supporting organizations.

 

In addition, there will be live demonstrations on the showfloor from chefs and restaurateurs.

 

"Our members have been asking for a trade show like this for years," said Georgia Restaurant Association Executive Director Karen Bremer.

 

She added, "That's why we are so pleased to support the Foodservice Expo in Atlanta."

 

According to the National Restaurant Association, there are more than 90,000 foodservice establishments in Georgia and the surrounding states, producing more than $80 billion in sales and 2.2 million jobs, with more than 35,000 of those establishments within just 200 miles of Atlanta.

 

“Atlanta is one of the very best locations in the country to hold a show like this,” Audrain said.

 

He added, “It is one of the most cost-effective cities and venues, enabling us to put a booth package together for exhibitors that will give them one cost that could include everything (even ‘material-handling’ charges that frequently frustrate exhibitors) they need at the show.”

 

Bremer added, "This trade show is an opportunity for our industry to come together. Through education, commerce and fellowship we strengthen not just individual businesses, but Georgia's foodservice industry as a whole."

 

The Atlanta Foodservice Expo is just the latest show for Clarion Events N.A., a division of U.K.-based Clarion Events, that has been announced since the new division was formed earlier this year.

 

Clarion Events N.A. also was awarded the management contract by The Navy League of the United States for its annual “Sea-Air-Space” Exposition, and it launched a U.S. edition of its Counter Terror Expo.

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