We’ve covered the Bar and Restaurant Expo and the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas for a few years now. Before I retired Eve Bushman Consulting I sat in many of the classes to keep up with the latest in the industry and share those updates and ideas with clients. I learned a lot, and while I took notes for my clients I also shared those notes in Eve’s Wine 101 for anyone.
Fast forward to the past few Covid years, with the event like all others being postponed and I decided to close my business with the move to Las Vegas (while keeping our home in Santa Clarita) in 2020. Now when I attend the Expos I focus on the new products as well as fresh ideas being introduced. Today’s article features everything we discovered at the recent 2023 shows.
Bar and Restaurant Expo
Sections were made for the Japanese Food and Beverage Showcase, Non Alcohol Chill Zone, Kitchen Equipment Showcase, a Tea Bar and The Bar for complementary cocktails and bites of food. If you want to see all of the exhibitors go here. And more details of the show are on their website: https://www.barandrestaurantexpo.com/
At the Kickoff Party, held the night before the show opened, this was my social media post:
OMG, does it look like we had fun at the Ayu Dayclub at Resorts World for the Bar And Restaurant Expo’s Kickoff Party? We certainly did! And hold the phone – we discovered White Claw, of canned Hard Seltzer fame, is distilling their own slightly sweet and distilled-from-corn vodka! And then, I got to meet Soprano Boss “Vito” aka Actor/Chef Joe Gannascoli, and get a taste of Rocavaka vodka “the vodka that rocks” distilled from grapes! Then, one of my fave vodkas of the night was from New Zealand and distilled from Whey – VDKA 6100! Ringside vodka was a tasty one, also distilled from corn. Kurvball Whiskey was there, with their BBQ whisky this time in a Pineapple Margarita! Can’t wait to re-visit all of them at the show! (Photos from Kickoff Party are here.)
From the main event, this was my post:
Oh what a great Bar and Restaurant Expo! What looks good to you here? We had a fab time rubbing elbows with fellow industry friends like Troy Hooper as well as Duane Fernandez with Uncle Nearest, VDKA 6100 vodka, Ringside Vodka, White Claw vodka, trying new-to-me brands like Choya Japanese Liqueur, Mario’s Hard Espresso, XXI Martinis, Lux Ice Diamond Shapes, Rolling Barrel Bourbon Whiskey, Black Infusions, Ohoro Gin, Middle West Spirits, the impressive ready-to-travel Blackbird drink cart, Food and Liquor from Mutual Trading and JFC International, Tillen Farms from Stonewall Kitchen, Koeze Co. chips and the best brand awareness via the PR%F Awards,…the list goes on! It’s just THE best event to discover the latest trends for bars and restaurants! (Photos from main event are here.)
We covered what we could – the vendors we met with are marked in bold here. Spirit, canned cocktail and beer vendors included 22 Salute Spirits & Coffee, Bare Zero Proof Spirits (zero proof being another growing category) Flavour Blaster, Heritage Distilling Co., Mario’s Hard Espresso, Middle West Spirits, Ole Smokey Distillery, ROCAVAKA, Sip Shine, Sugarlands Distilling Company and Takahashi Shuzo Co., Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey, Waterbird Spirits and XXI Martinis, COOL CAT Cocktails, Margarita Man, Don Elias Premium Tequila, Asahi Beer, EZ-Jello Shots, Heineken and Meta Hard Elixir among others.
Sake brands included JFC International, Kikusui Sake USA, Mutual Trading Co., Hakutsuru Sake of America, Joto Sake/Kobrand Corp., Kubota Sake USA, Sake Generations Inc. and Takara Sake USA.
Find on Instagram:
@LuxIceUSA @Koeze_1910 @ChoyaUSA @WhiteClaw @Rocavaka @VDKA6100 @KurvballWhiskey @LuxIceUSA @xxiMartinis @MariosHardEspresso @Koeze_1910 @StonewallKitchen @Choya_USA @Black.Infusions @ProofAwards @UncleNearest @MiddlewestSpirits @JFCInternational @MutualTrading @BarAndRestaurantExpo
International Pizza Expo
For the first time, and I hope the last, I had to miss the Pizza Expo and relied on my husband, Eddie, who normally serves as photographer, to cover the event in full. With repeated instructions (we are married!) he was to take copious photos of anything interesting, and get samples if available for further review. He did great his first time out of the chute! We went over his photos and he was able to caption them for me on social media, as well as help with this post:
What happens when Eve’s Wine 101 Staff Photographer arrives at the International Pizza Expo without Eve? He does a full report! Check out the pics – starting with the Hot Wings gal – and cool video of chocolate Gelato topped with Calabrian chili olive oil and salt, and more pics of his favorite booths! Among the tasty treats you will want to see on the menu of your favorite pizza place also includes a Cheeseburger Pizza with what looks to have pickles, tomatoes, sausage and yellow cheese; Stanislaus Tomatoes Ravioli, a great table display of fresh vegetable toppings, Prosciutto and olive oils; Amoretti Premium Syrups – his fave was the uniquely flavored cream of pumpkin pie; an assortment of Italian red wines; Caputo Parmesan cheese and their own Semola pizza flour; tasty Jones cane sugar soda; Red Gold tomato ketchup; both Marzetti and Ken’s salad dressings; the always great Chef Paul Prudhomme Magic seasonings; Polly-O cheese; Columbus vegetable oils; Marin French Cheese Co and Grain Craft kitchen utensils! (Photos and video here.)
Find on Instagram:
@StanislausTomatoes @Amoretti @CaputoFlour @JonesSodaCo @RedGoldTomatoes @Marzetti @KensDressings @MagicSeasoningBlends @Polly_OCheese @Columbus_veg_oils @MarinFrenchCheese @PizzaExpo
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 17k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Las Vegas Proof Awards, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
