Restaurant Symposium Drawing Hundreds of Participants

More than 100 restaurant professionals have reserved their places for the first Restaurant Symposium to be held in the Napa Valley, Tuesday, February 10, 2004. Due to space restrictions, reservations will close February 6.

“We have owners, executive chefs, marketing, HR, food and beverage managers coming not only from Napa, but from locations such as San Francisco, Mill Valley and Pt. Reyes Station to attend the Symposium,” said Joe Salerno, owner of Piccolino’s Italian Café and one of the coordinators of the event. This is the first time a Restaurant Symposium has been held outside a metropolitan area.

Speakers will address topics such as “Operations—how to lower costs and increase profits” given by Guy Fieri, CRA. Fieri will discuss product utilization, eliminating send backs and the costly hostile compliance situation with employment. Fieri is the COO of Johnny Garlic’s Inc. and has worked at every job from dishwasher to owner.

Speaker Aaron Noveshen is an award-winning chef with 18 years of experience creating products and concepts for the food and beverage industry. He has created and supported over 300 recipes at five different hotels and restaurants. Noveshen’s topic is “Creating products your customers will crave.”

Bill Main, CRA, is a nationally recognized financial and foodservice management consultant who will bring his expertise in marketing by teaching how to deliver a “Unique Experience Proposition” that sets one restaurant apart from its competitors.

Symposium attendees will have opportunities during the day to visit more than two-dozen exhibitor booths. Exhibitors include restaurant suppliers, signage experts, food and wine paintings and personnel placement agencies. 

After a networking lunch, two panel discussions will focus on “Teaming with the wine industry for fun and profit” and “Creating hype about your business.”
 
Gene Burns, nationally syndicated radio talk-show personality and host of KGO Radio’s Dining Around, will deliver the keynote address. Panelists include Alex Ryan from Duckhorn, Open Table representative Nadine Wiel, GraceAnn Walden from the San Francisco Chronicle and the Napa Register’s Pierce Carson.

The event will be held February 10 from 8 am to 3 pm at Copia, 500 First Street, Napa. Because of the response, organizers have extended the special rate of $99, which covers two attendees from the same company. The final day for registration is February 6; no reservations will be accepted after that time. For further information or to register on-line go to: www.restaurantsofnapavalley.com