ATLANTA —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
But viewed in its most ambitious light, they add, the combination of the two leading events has the potential to achieve much more while attracting an anticipated 23,000 foodservice operators, suppliers, consultants and educators to the Georgia World Congress Center. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
“This co-location will keep operators up with the next generation of technology that can link all aspects of the foodservice environment, from the back-of-the-house, with its equipment and production areas, to the dining room with its connection to the guest,” FS/TEC co-founder Robert N. Grimes of Accuvia says. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
Grimes co-produces and co-manages FS/TEC with co-founder Nation’s Restaurant News. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
FS/TEC runs Oct. 10-13; The NAFEM Show runs Oct. 11-13. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
The co-location pact may well do more than provide operators with enhanced access to the latest technology and equipment news and products, however. It has the potential to open lines of communication like never before, says NRN publisher Alan Gould. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
“By simultaneously staging FS/TEC and The NAFEM Show, we’re creating an unprecedented platform from which operators and suppliers can share ideas and experiences related to the convergence of technology and equipment,” says Gould, who co-chairs FS/TEC with Grimes. He adds that such exchanges “are as likely to take place in the exhibit halls as they are to occur before, during or after the many educational programs being offered.” —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
Carol P. Wallace, president of Chicago-based NAFEM, says co-locating the events only makes sense in an era when “operators worldwide are looking for total solutions for their foodservice facilities.” —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
Georgia World Congress Center: A conference town in Atlanta’s downtown With more than 90 acres of floor area on multiple levels, including 1.4 million square feet of exhibition space, the Georgia World Congress Center, this year’s home for the co-located FS/TEC and The NAFEM Show, is akin to an independent conference-and-events community conveniently located in downtown Atlanta. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. The GWCC opened in 1976 and today has 12 exhibit halls, 106 meeting rooms and 2 grand ballrooms. It is part of Atlanta’s trio of noted event and public facilities that also includes the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. About 10,000 hotel rooms are within walking distance of the facility, which, for those who don’t want the exercise, is served by two stops of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system. Among the 15 permanent restaurants and beverage outlets on site are a Starbucks and a fine-dining venue called Terraces that serves “global fare and Southern tastes,” such as fried green tomatoes and Cajun shrimp “towers.” Compass Group PLC’s Levy Restaurants division is GWCC’s contract foodservice management firm. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. Wireless Internet access is available in lobby areas and some other public spaces, such as restaurants, but not in exhibit areas. It is a pay-to-use service requiring Web surfers to provide credit card information. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. More information about the GWCC is available at
Apart from her NAFEM duties, Wallace is president and chief executive of Cooper-Atkins Corp. of Middlefield, Conn. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
The NAFEM Show, the industry’s largest equipment event, takes place every other year and attracts around 20,000 foodservice professionals. FS/TEC is held annually and draws between 2,000 and 2,500 technology-focused foodservice executives. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
In even-numbered years through 2017, NRN and Grimes will continue to produce FS/TEC as a stand-alone conference and exposition, though it will include NAFEM committee meetings and educational sessions. In odd-numbered years the two full events will be held in the same venues simultaneously. Starting in 2009, both NAFEM and FS/TEC will move to February. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
Both events offer a wide range of educational sessions, keynote speeches and networking opportunities, as well as exhibit halls packed with the latest in foodservice-related applications. The NAFEM Show, which features more than 600 exhibiting companies, focuses on equipment and supplies for food preparation, cooking, storage and table service. FS/TEC annually attracts more than 150 exhibitors displaying software and hardware innovations to enhance restaurant operations and improve the guest experience. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.
Thriving foodservice industry bolsters Atlanta’s ‘New Capital’ claim in the South CNN, The Coca-Cola Co. and The Home Depot Inc. may be among Atlanta’s best-known enterprises, but food-service organizations also are prominent in the city. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. Operator-attendees of FS/TEC and The NAFEM Show should find plenty of their peers among the 4.9 million people in the 28-county Atlanta metropolitan area, in which 13 Fortune 500 companies are based. Known as the “New Capital of the South,” 184-year-old Atlanta is home to eight of the Top 200 U.S. foodservice chains, as tracked by Nation’s Restaurant News, with aggregate systemwide sales in their latest full fiscal years of $8.2 billion. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. The Atlanta Top 200 contingent, led by Chick-fil-A with $2.3 billion in 2006 sales, includes Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Morrison Management Specialists, Hooters, Church’s Chicken and Longhorn Steakhouse. Visitors to Atlanta regularly frequent branches of those homegrown chains before and after trying the city’s attractions, such as Atlanta Botanical Garden, Braves Museum and Hall of Fame, and Georgia Aquarium. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. The city’s independent and small-group restaurant scene is active and counts among its multiunit operators Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Concentrics Restaurants & Hospitality and Here to Serve Restaurants. “Institution” status long ago was bestowed on Atlanta’s 79-year-old, carhop-anchored The Varsity. —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. Atlanta lies at the foothills of the southern Appalachians and, according to Additional Atlanta information can be found at Operator network adds value to FS/TEC education sessions —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. FS/TEC ‘advisers’ help confab maintain operator focus —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. Education programs, amenities to enhance NAFEM confab —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say. FS/TEC and NAFEM Show participants, programs to explore foodservice’s growing ‘green’ movement —In the simplest terms, the co-location here next month of the International Foodservice Technology Exposition and the v’ biennial NAFEM Show creates an all-encompassing educational center and showcase for foodservice equipment and information systems and services buyers, organizers say.