- 5/18/2025
Lisa Malikow, Senior Vice President of the National Restaurant Show, (May 17-20, 2025 in Chicago) has helped turn the event into a launchpad for restaurant operators. With over 2,200 exhibitors and a constant flow of new vendors, she focuses on helping attendees discover ideas they did not even know they needed.
Watch now to learn about building the industry’s biggest restaurant show, helping operators grow, and why unexpected inspiration is the best part of the job.
Watch now to learn about building the industry’s biggest restaurant show, helping operators grow, and why unexpected inspiration is the best part of the job.
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NewsTranscript
00:00our show was taking place at the same time as the Met Gala, and there were more things in their
00:04social feed about the restaurant show than the Met Gala. And I thought, oh, well, now we've won.
00:15Welcome to Restaurant Influencers presented by Entrepreneur. I'm your host, Sean Walsh.
00:19This is a Cali BBQ Media production. In life, in the restaurant business,
00:24and in the new creator economy, we learn through lessons and stories.
00:28I want to give a special shout out to Toast for believing in me, believing in my team,
00:32giving us this platform. Thank you to Entrepreneur Magazine. We have come a long way since 2022,
00:39when we first launched this second podcast of ours. We had a dream to share stories,
00:45lessons and stories from the restaurant, technology space and storytelling space. And
00:50today's episode means a lot to me. You guys will learn why. We just celebrated 17 years in
00:56business. Cali BBQ is the restaurant that I own here in San Diego with my wife, my kids and my
01:01team. We could not do it without the incredible people here in San Diego supporting us. But as
01:06a restaurant, too, I remember early on 2008, opening up the restaurant and learning about
01:12the National Restaurant Association, learning about the National Restaurant Association show,
01:17and having this dream that eventually our business would be profitable. We would scale enough so that
01:24I could go and meet with other industry leaders. I could meet with other technologists, other people
01:29that have product services that are helping this industry. This is a global industry. And
01:34today we have Lisa Malico. She is the senior VP of the restaurant show, the biggest restaurant show
01:42on the planet. She is here. We're going to give you guys all the insights that you need for the
01:472025 National Restaurant Association show, what you need to do, what to avoid, tips, trips and
01:53mistakes. But more importantly, the cool things that are going on, because every year that I've
01:58gone, it gets better. And I don't know how that's possible, but all the things that I've been talking
02:04to the team about, the things that our partners that are going to have exhibits and booths there
02:09that we can't wait to share. Lisa, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I'm excited to talk to
02:15you today about it. We're recording this about 23 days away from when we opened. 23 days away.
02:21Lots going on. That's what I'm talking about. We're getting you at a great time. And, you know,
02:25shout out to the team that's going to turn this around so we can share as much information with
02:30you, the listener, you, the viewer. We want to give you all the insights so that you can register
02:35and that we can meet you in Chicago and you can find all the things that are actually going to
02:39help move your restaurant forward. Lisa, high level for me. Can you give me facts about this
02:44year's show? How many people are attending? How many vendors? So we will have a little over 22,000
02:53or sorry. Whoa. That would've been a lot. 2200 exhibitors at the show. And so that fills up
03:02what is essentially 12 football fields worth of exhibit space. And so just any product or service
03:10you can possibly need for your restaurant business from equipment to food to technology services,
03:17uniforms, shoes, you know, you name it. Real estate consulting. I mean, we really have
03:23every piece of your business that you may need represented at the show. So, you know,
03:28of those 2200 exhibitors, about a third of them are first time exhibitors, which is one of the
03:33things I think when you were talking about your experience at the show, like, you know, it's
03:38really, truly new every year, right? Like we have so many new innovations happening in the restaurant
03:45space. And, you know, I think we're so lucky to be able to collaborate with those exhibitors to
03:51help them bring it to life at the show every year for operators like yourself to be able to come and
03:57discover new things and new things that have been created that you can start to implement in your
04:02business. So in terms of the number of people over the course of four days, we'll probably
04:09welcome about 55,000 people to Chicago for the show. So, you know, and that is just, you know,
04:17a fraction of the people that are in food service overall, but certainly a huge convening of food
04:24service and hospitality and the energy that that number of people who are all in this business
04:32when that combines at McCormick Place, it just has electricity to it. And you can see the kind
04:38of love and joy that people have for each other and food service itself. So it's really
04:44a special, special event. Bring me back to when you first started working for the show.
04:50So I first started, my first show was 2009, and I focused on an event that we had at the time
04:57called the International Wine Spirits and Beer Event. So that event was sort of a show within a
05:03show that focused specifically on the adult beverage segment. And at the time, what we were
05:10trying to do is do more of a tasting event for those types of products. And it's since been kind
05:17of integrated into the full show. That's what our beverage room pavilion is today. But it was a great
05:23space to start in because I did everything for that event. I worked with our exhibiting companies.
05:29I worked on the setup and operations. I helped curate the education content that was specific
05:34to adult beverage. So I really got to know a specific product segment. And that experience,
05:39I think, has helped me as I've moved along in my career with the restaurant show kind of understand
05:45that when you have a show like ours that has so many different product categories,
05:50each of those product areas has specific needs. And sometimes at food service operations,
05:57there are people that are very, you know, vertical in what they focus on, right? They might only be
06:02interested in the technology that's being used. But then you also have people that are the owners
06:07and operators who look at everything across and how everything gets integrated. So you've got to
06:12keep all of that in mind when building out your program, building out the show floor, you know,
06:16different segments that we start to look at. So I really appreciate that I started in that
06:21particular segment for the show. Bring me back how like, what did the show look like back then?
06:25And what has the scale gotten to? Yeah, so we were probably, I would say around 500,000
06:31net square feet. So today, we're a little over 700,000. So we were in the quarter place has
06:37four buildings. We were in two buildings back in 2009. And then probably starting in around
06:452015, 2016, we started growing in a way that we were able to move into a third building,
06:53which is the Lakeside Center. And that building is so fun for me, because that is, you know,
06:59we've got a lot of global food, the beverages, our culinary stages over there. So, you know,
07:06we don't we don't segment our show floor for a reason. Because we want food and different
07:13products to be integrated throughout so that, you know, attendees can really have that sense
07:19of exploration. But I certainly like to spend time in Lakeside, because the flavors and the
07:25smells and everything that tend to be over there. And, and also, it's got a lot of natural light,
07:30too, which is just not common at convention centers. I would love to talk. I mean, obviously,
07:36we have we have a lot of partners in the technology space, a lot of the work that we do focuses on
07:41restaurant technology and storytelling. So content creators as well, which we'll get to.
07:47But can you talk about that integration? I mean, it's a hard thing to do when you have
07:51reoccurring partners coming that want certain booth size, certain space, certain locations. But
07:58I mean, this is just my personal feedback, just in the last four years that I've been going to
08:02the show, I've noticed, obviously, the technology section is no real not, it's not even really a
08:08section anymore. If you think about technology from a food service perspective, I mean,
08:13there are technology vendors everywhere, Lakeside, both sides, every hall. And if you think about it,
08:21I mean, one of our theses of our show is that every business is in the technology and storytelling
08:26business. So some component of all of these is talking about technology. Can you talk a little
08:31bit about how you guys have have embraced technology throughout the entire convention?
08:37Yeah, absolutely. So similar to what you're saying, you know,
08:40the what I've seen over the 1516 years that I've worked on the show is how technology has just
08:48integrated in itself into every other product segment as well, right. So, you know, the
08:54equipment companies, and some of the innovations that are being awarded in our KI program,
09:02are very technology based, right? KI is kitchen innovations. And so it is our program,
09:08it's our 21st year. And it is a jurored program that awards innovative kitchen equipment,
09:16so back of house equipment. And what I've seen in that, in particular, is the influence of technology
09:24on how equipment has evolved, right. And it's not just about the efficiency of a knob and a
09:32tube anymore. It's really about the platforms that run those pieces of machines to help them get
09:40smaller, get more efficient, you know, help your staff move through the kitchen in a different way.
09:46And so, you know, that pavilion, which is in our South Hall is full of technology. And 20 years
09:52ago, when that program started, that probably wouldn't have been thought of the same way.
09:58And then the same, even I would say in the food category, right, like the different ways that
10:03technology can affect how food is produced, how flavors are produced, how flavors are mixed,
10:12all of those things you start to see in all these different categories. And I think that's one of
10:17the reasons why we talk all the time, we've got this tech pavilion, as you know, in the North
10:22building. And sometimes we've thought, like, do we have tech pavilion 2.0 or tech pavilion, you know,
10:27and it's a hard thing to do, because you really see technology everywhere. And some companies
10:36maybe have very technical or technology, you know, based products. And then others have it where
10:44it's part of a product, right? And they don't necessarily want to be in the pavilion. So,
10:48you know, you got to try to have a balance there. I think the same is true for food. I mean, that's
10:52one of the things I always say, like, at the end of the day, what's a restaurant do? It serves food,
10:56right? And so food, we like to see everywhere at McCormick Place, because I think ultimately,
11:04that's why we're all in this business, right? We like to serve food and create that sense
11:10of hospitality. So having that everywhere is important to us as well.
11:14What, when you're on the show floor, what do you tend to hear from restaurant owners that
11:20are visiting the show for the first time? I think, number one, most people are shocked
11:26when they get there and how big it is. I think there's this kind of moment.
11:29I'm shocked every year. And I take video. I take video and I go back and I'm like,
11:34wow, it's even bigger than I thought. Yeah. And they thought, oh, it didn't really
11:39wear the right shoes today or, you know, that sort of thing. But I think, you know, that type of,
11:46you know, more funny stuff aside, one of the things that is consistent is how inspired people
11:53feel. And I don't know that they always expect that, right? They go there because maybe they
11:58have a problem they're trying to solve or they're looking for specific products and they have a gap
12:04in their supply chain, you know, whatever their main driver is to attend that year.
12:09And then when they get there and they happen upon something they hadn't even thought of or knew
12:17existed, I think that really type of inspiration is great to see. And you can hear it, you know,
12:26and I'm walking through, I'm usually like running from point A to point B, you know, like, you know,
12:30don't sit very much at the show, but you hear it and you hear how people are just
12:35excited to come back the next day, making plans to come back next year,
12:38because all of a sudden they realize, oh, I'm going to get a lot out of this. I've just,
12:43you know, now I've got almost too many ideas and I've got to go back and figure out
12:47what I want to focus on in the short term, the long term, you know, etc.
12:52Bring me to day one of the show. What tips do you have for people that are first time attendees
13:00coming to the show, coming to Chicago? What should they be thinking about to plan for a successful
13:06packed four days?
13:07Yep. So first and foremost, I would make a plan to pick up your badge because, you know,
13:14there is sort of like all these people like descend on McCormick Place and we have badge
13:20pickup locations and at McCormick Place in both South Building and Lakeside. But we also have
13:26five hotels in the city where you can pick up your badge. And so, you know, those are listed
13:31in the badge confirmation. So whatever is most convenient for you. But, you know, certainly,
13:36you know, it and you can pick those up before the show. So before you can pick those up on
13:41Friday, before the show, if you wanted or at or at McCormick, both. Yeah. So our hotel ones are
13:48open on Friday and Saturday of the show. And so the I think I would do that because I would want
13:54to be able to just get to McCormick Place and go straight to the show. I don't think I'd want to
13:58have to stand in line or that sort of thing. The line moves quick. I will say that. But it's
14:03you know, certainly there are thousands of people trying to do it at the same time.
14:06So I pick it up in advance and then the show opens at nine thirty in the morning on Saturday.
14:12930, not 10 a.m.? Not 10 a.m. 930 is when we open. 10 a.m. is when our
14:18demos start. So that's one of the reasons why we open at 930. Really? That's amazing. So you can
14:25get in at 930. That's great news. That's awesome. So 930 and then, you know, you kind of then start
14:33to work your plan. So we have a great app called The Show to Go where you can save your exhibitors
14:38that you're interested in seeing, sort of look at the floor plans, you know, make that route.
14:43And I always say like when I attend shows, so I would do this the same at the restaurant show,
14:48I try to get the lay of the land first. Right. I have the floor plans. I have the app in front of
14:54me. I make sure I know where everything is. And then I start to work my plan. So maybe on day one,
15:00I decide to go into the north building and check out the specific technology exhibitors that I was
15:06looking for. And, you know, I head over to the Taste of the States, which is a food pavilion
15:10that we have in the north hall. And then that afternoon, I want to head over to Lakeside Center
15:15because there's a culinary demo that I want to check out or I want to head over to the beverage
15:21room. And I and I and I have this sort of plan that I'm working on, but I always save enough
15:26white space in my day to just look around because the truth is, is it's very hard to get to where
15:34you're going on a on a scheduled basis because you're probably, you know, fascinated by something
15:41in front of you, right, or having an amazing conversation with somebody. And all of a sudden,
15:44you're late to whatever you were trying to get to next. So you got to kind of leave that space
15:48in your schedule to be able to hit up all the things that you want to do. But making that plan
15:53and using the tools that we have in our show to go app is really the way to go. I think it would
15:59be kind of overwhelming otherwise to organize your day just again, because there's so many
16:05offerings to take a look at while you're there, including, you know, things to do at night and,
16:12you know, different different things to enjoy in the city of Chicago.
16:15Can you give some tips? We have a lot of vendor partners, exhibitors that are going to be first
16:20time exhibiting at the National Restaurant Show. We also have a lot that are coming to walk the
16:26floor to learn what what it's all about so that they can set up shop next year. Can you give some
16:31best practices? Yeah, absolutely. So for our exhibiting companies, you know, I think first
16:37and foremost, you know, that app that I was just talking about, they all have profiles in that app.
16:41And it's very important to go into your exhibitor profile to update that and make sure that you're
16:48representing yourself as best you can in terms of the description, the contact people you put in
16:54there, all those things, because that app is that living, breathing show directory. And so you want
17:00to make sure that the attendees that are looking for you know enough about your company that if,
17:06you know, they don't necessarily see you while they're walking up and down the aisles,
17:09they want to find you because they read about you in the app. And, you know, I think sometimes
17:15that falls down on people's lists of things to do, but it's really important.
17:20Because from a media perspective, looking for stories, looking for cool things,
17:25any exhibitor that watches this or listens to this, this is like a Google business profile
17:30for a restaurant owner. So we have partnership with Google, we talk about how important it is
17:35for restaurant owners to fill out their Google business profile. If you're an exhibitor, please
17:40do what Lisa is asking and fill out the information. Whoever the point of contact is,
17:45you want to do business with people on the show floor, let us know who the point of contact is
17:49and fill out the information about what are you doing, what are you working on. That is great
17:53information. I'm so happy you said that. Yeah, I think it's literally the number one thing you
17:57can do. You know, certainly people put, you know, lots of time and imagination into their booth
18:04design. That's also really important to be eye catching, to have something that draws people
18:09into your booth. But, you know, if people, you know, people are making that plan with the show
18:14to go directory, you want to be, you know, represented as best you can digitally as well.
18:19Can you give us some high level information about the National Restaurant Association
18:23in general for those that aren't members of the National Restaurant Association? Yeah, absolutely.
18:27So the National Restaurant Association is the association for the restaurant industry. It's
18:33headquartered in Washington, D.C., and every state has their own state association. So if you are an
18:41independent restaurateur in Michigan, you could join the Michigan Restaurant Association and then
18:48by being members of Michigan, you would then be members of the National Restaurant Association.
18:54If you're a larger chain or, you know, a multi-state chain, you can join the
19:00association directly as well. But really, you know, the reason the association exists is to
19:06advocate for food service operators, restaurateurs, you know, people in this industry and making sure
19:14that, you know, the industry is growing. So, you know, they have a educational foundation
19:20that supports ProStart, which is the leading curriculum for restaurant and hospitality
19:27students at the high school level, as well as other levels as well, and making sure that the
19:32future of food service is really secured and that people see that they can have long-term,
19:39successful careers in the restaurant industry. I think I heard a stat once from the association
19:45that something, I mean, I'm going to butcher the stat, but I'm going to say what I think it is
19:49anyway, that something like, you know, 75% of everyone in the United States' first job is in
19:55the restaurant industry. And mine was, I bussed tables when I was 15 years old and, you know,
20:03the skills that you learn in the restaurant industry is applicable in so many different
20:10kinds of businesses. But also, there are many different types of jobs and roles within food
20:17service itself, right? You could be an accountant, and you can do that in the restaurant industry.
20:21You don't have to leave food service in order to do those things. And so, you know, some of the
20:26message I think that the association puts out is really great on that, because it's really about
20:29making sure that, you know, people are seeing this as a viable and profitable job for themselves
20:36and, you know, the future. How important is storytelling for the restaurant association show?
20:43I think it's, you know, really vital, because what we want is for people to understand
20:51the breadth of food service, and, you know, how important it is to society, I would say,
21:01really, in terms of, you know, keeping culture moving forward, right? You see all the things
21:07that happen in restaurants, all the different types of cuisines, all the family and hospitality,
21:14and that comes to life at, you know, at restaurants all across the world. And we want to be a reflection
21:22of that at the show as well, and make sure that we're helping move that storytelling forward,
21:27so that, again, people see this as the best industry that we know that it is.
21:33Yeah, it's a difficult industry, but it's a beautiful industry. We look at the headlines
21:39that are in the news, the worries that we have as business owners. Uncertainty is a theme that is
21:46very prevalent on many people's mind. My grandfather, he raised me, and he taught me to
21:52stay curious, to get involved, and to ask for help. One of the things that I love about the National
21:57Restaurant Association show is that you put a big focus on curiosity and education. The first year
22:04that I went to the show, I was able to speak on multiple panels. This year, I'm also speaking on
22:09a panel. I'm grateful for those opportunities. Can you share what you have from an educational
22:14perspective for those that are coming to the show? Yeah, absolutely. So, we have education really
22:18threaded throughout the show, and I'm just going to make sure I'm going to say our tracks correctly,
22:24but we've got a couple of places where you can get education. So, we've got theaters in each of our
22:30show floor halls. That's all included with your main expo only badge. So, those theaters
22:39encompass the culinary experience, which are like culinary demos, the beverage room stage,
22:43which is all about adult beverage or your bar programs. We've got the innovation theater,
22:48which is located in our technology pavilion, and lots of different types of education happening
22:55at that theater, and then our discovery theater, which is in the south building, and it has a lot
23:00of operational topics and things of that sort. And then we have a second layer of education,
23:05which is part of an upgraded package that you can purchase if education is really, you know,
23:11your driver for coming to the event, and that's called Expo Plus Education, and that unlocks about
23:17100 extra education sessions that are upstairs in meeting rooms, and those are on a variety of
23:24topics. So, we've got, you know, operational matters, marketing, different types of culinary
23:34stuff. So, there's like probably about eight different tracks that we organize into,
23:39but all of that is accessible with that badge. And so, I don't have a problem saying that I think
23:46you could find any topic that you're needing some education on, and probably stuff you didn't know
23:52you need education on. Like, one I'm really excited about this year has to do with the
23:57different ways that you adjust your marketing, but also your menu to, I think it's called something
24:03from like gen boomers to zoomers or something, but it's like it's really about all the different
24:09generations that restaurants have to keep in mind, right? You know, your customer base is ever
24:16changing, and you know, like taking the pizza world, for example, you know, someone in the
24:22boomer generation might really care about one part of the pizza, and then someone in Gen Z might care
24:29about a different part of the pizza. And so, how are you accommodating both of those types of
24:34customers, not only in the product that you're serving, but in the way that you're talking about
24:38it and telling your story as a restaurant? And so, lots of really cool topics that I think are
24:44thought-provoking for people as well. You guys have gone out of your way to welcome creators,
24:51influencers, podcasters. Can you share a little bit about what you hope from a media standpoint
24:57for coverage for the event? Yeah, I'm hoping that people, if they aren't able to attend,
25:06are able to have that FOMO, because they're seeing it out there during the show, right? So,
25:13last year, I think there was a quote I read on one of our social media channels that said that
25:18they couldn't believe that our show was taking place at the same time as the Met Gala, and there
25:23were more things in their social feed about the restaurant show than the Met Gala. And I thought,
25:28oh, well, now we've won, you know? Like, so we, you know, I think just, you know, people sharing
25:35that excitement, and especially the influencers and content creators, like you said, you know,
25:41you come at it with a different lens, right? And being able to help interpret some of the
25:46things that you're seeing at the show, and helping people, you know, understand what you saw, what
25:52you're excited about, what you're taking away from the restaurant show. And hopefully, that means in
25:58the future, that person who's watching will consider coming as well. Yeah, that's so well
26:04said. I mean, part of our mission every year is, we know, I know, I know firsthand how hard it is
26:10to leave your restaurant and, you know, get to Chicago. But my goal and the content that we
26:15create is to share the story of all the cool things that are happening. Because one of the
26:21magical things that happens is that the show is the level of talent, and intelligent people,
26:28hospitable people, empathetic people that are all gathered in one place. And when you do that,
26:34it gives you the opportunity to ask for help. You know, in those magical moments that happen
26:38on the show floor, that happen in the halls, while you're waiting for coffee,
26:42those are irreplaceable. And you know, hopefully, the people that listen to this are inspired to
26:48figure out a way to get to Chicago. And you know, one of one of the biggest things that I've learned
26:52personally, is that my team was better when I got out of my own restaurant. And I was actually able
26:58to build a better restaurant, which is really hard thing to say. But as a restaurant owner,
27:02and a restaurant leader, we have to empower our teams. And there's no better event on the calendar
27:07than this massive show, this global show, where people are flying in from countries all over the
27:13world, to do business, to learn more to stay educated. What do you hope into the future?
27:21What do you hope that the legacy is of this show?
27:26Well, I think, ultimately, we want to make an impact on the individual people that make up
27:33this industry. So that the, you know, similar to what you just said, right, that what you found
27:40when you started to attend the show is that it became a vital part of how you run your business,
27:47right. So whether it's the inspiration that you feel or can bring back to your team, or your team
27:52members that you can start to bring to the show to help mentor them in their careers. I think,
27:59you know, when I hear certain attendees who are like, oh, this is my 40th restaurant show,
28:03right. And I'm like, wow, I cannot believe someone's come 40 times. But the reason is because
28:10they found a place where they can go to continue to be inspired about what they do every day,
28:18because the restaurant industry, probably more than any other business, I really believe is,
28:23it's really hard to walk away from your business, right? There's so much happening all the time.
28:29Makes it hard to even take vacations when you need to or take those breaks. And, and this,
28:34this is a piece of that, because I think it really helps people on that individual level,
28:41see the future and take that little peek into what's coming next down the pike. And
28:46I was thinking about what you said in terms of right now, all the uncertainty that's happening
28:51in the industry. And I think that's, you know, it makes it hard to leave your business, but it's
28:57actually when you need to come the most, because it's, it's about trying to make sure that you're
29:03prepared for that next step, whatever the next step ends up being. So you gotta got a contingency
29:10plan, right? And you'll, you'll see things at the show that help you do that. And I think just kind
29:15of that effect on the individual people, and individual, you know, persons in this industry
29:21is what I hope the legacy of the show is, right? Because it's really about the people that are
29:24there, that we bring together all in one place for those four days.
29:30So if somebody is listening to this, watching this, they're inspired, they want to come and
29:34show up in Chicago, what's the best action for them to take?
29:38To go to our website, which is nationalrestaurantshow.com. We have a big old
29:42button there right on the website that says register. I know Sean's offering a discount
29:48code, which is Sean25. So that's great. Please use it. We've got a nice promotional code box
29:54on the registration process for that. But first and foremost, you have to get a badge.
29:58Registration doesn't close. If you decide on May 19, that you're going to come, come, right? We
30:05don't, you know, there's never a point in time where we're going to tell you no. But I think
30:10to start making your plans today is the number one thing you can do.
30:14Yeah. And if you're watching this, we want to see you. So please reach out to me at Sean P.
30:20Instagram is probably the fastest, but we're active on all the platforms, LinkedIn, TikTok,
30:26YouTube, all the channels. We will be live from the show. We will be recording
30:31all different types of content. We can't wait to see you. We can't wait to record with you. We
30:34can't wait to hear your restaurant story. Lisa, I'm so grateful for your time. Before I let you
30:40go, I would love to know, what do you eat? What's your recommendation? What do you eat in Chicago?
30:46So, well, so I know, I know. And you know, what's funny is I, I tried, I got a lot of
30:52different answers to this question because, you know, if you're talking to a pizza person,
30:56I want to be like, I have, this is my pizza spot, but I, yeah, I'm not going to do the pizza
31:02because I also think my go-to maybe I'll do more of my go-to area of the city because I've lived
31:08the city almost 20 years and my, I love going to most recently the things in the Fulton Market
31:18area because you get a little of everything. There is, you know, hot dog places, amazing
31:25high-end, like, you know, Michelin star related places. There's timeout market, which is where
31:30our party is, which you can get kind of a taste of things going on in the city. But I, I, I view
31:36Chicago as, you know, well, in my opinion, it's the number one restaurant destination in the
31:41country. So I, I think we've got a little bit of everything and it's kind of this global influence,
31:46like all happening and you kind of see it all in like a two block radius down there in the Fulton
31:51Market area. So. So I heard that Beyonce will be in Chicago on Friday night before the show opens,
31:59is that correct? Thursday night before the show. And then on the Saturday of the show and the
32:04Sunday of the show. So, yeah, that, that is not my favorite thing that's happening. I love Beyonce,
32:10don't get me wrong. Beyonce couldn't fit in this keynote at the show? No, we asked, but she
32:17didn't have her voice. You know, no, I'm kidding. I wish you asked. I'll ask. Someone told us we
32:23should have her for the ribbon cutting. And I was like, I feel like she's going to be resting her
32:27voice up for the concerts that night. But, you know, so we've still got a bunch of hotels on
32:33our website as well that are literally the only place you can get the most discounted rates. So,
32:40you know, and some of that's because of the Beyonce concert. So that maybe actually should
32:43be the number one action and then register, because I think if you need a hotel room,
32:48you know, please go to our website today to book through our block, because we've got
32:53a number of hotels still left with availability at really great rates.
32:58Amazing. And once again, just want to thank Toast for giving us the opportunity to do these
33:02interviews. Thank you to the National Restaurant Association show. Thank you to Informa. We cannot
33:06wait. This is this is our this is our Super Bowl. So every year it's the thing we circle on the
33:11calendar. We can't wait to meet so many of you that listen to the show that watch the show.
33:16You guys are a part of this story. We can't wait to see you in Chicago. Lisa,
33:20any parting words before we get before I see you in Chicago?
33:25No, because that's what I was going to say. I was like, my parting words is I'm going to see
33:27you in Chicago. So I'll be I'll be running around. You'll probably see me in my suit
33:31walking up and down the show floor. Just stop me and say hi.
33:34Well, I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of the people that make this show
33:39happen. I we run a restaurant. We've done events in front of our restaurant. Nothing compared to
33:45what you guys do at the size and scope. But we've put on professional barbecue contests at the
33:49Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The amount of people that it takes to execute small events, let alone
33:54big events. There are so many amazing people. And this is just a reminder to all of us that
33:59we're all in the hospitality business. So be kind to the every single person that you meet.
34:04You have no idea what they're going through. There's different people that work for different
34:07organizations, from security to the booth vendors. Like, just be kind and enjoy the show. Have a
34:14great time. Thank you, Lisa. Totally agree. Thank you, Sean. Curious. Get involved. Don't
34:19be afraid to ask for help. We will see you in Chicago. Thank you for listening to restaurant
34:26influencers. If you want to get in touch with me, I am weirdly available at Sean P. Walshef, S H
34:32A W N P W A L C H E F. Cali barbecue media has other shows. You can check out digital hospitality.
34:40We've been doing that show since 2017. We also just launched a show season two family style on
34:47YouTube with toast. And if you are a restaurant brand or a hospitality brand and you're looking
34:53to launch your own show, Cali barbecue media can help you. Recently, we just launched room for
34:59seconds with Greg Majewski. It is an incredible insight into leadership, into hospitality,
35:06into enterprise restaurants and franchise franchisee relationships. Take a look at room
35:12for seconds. And if you're ready to start a show, reach out to us. Be the show dot media.
35:18We can't wait to work with you.
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