Food & Wine Fest provides platform for local businesses
Thousands flock to their food and drinks
Orlando’s Downtown Food & Wine Fest was more than just an excuse for a little day drinking, it was a platform for restaurants to launch and publicize their latest endeavors.
When Ashley Nickell, a contestant on the 15th season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” wasn’t serving an ahi tuna rice bowl at the Funky Monkey booth, she was talking about her new restaurant, Restaurant ASH. “We figured it’s a good way to get the name out there,” said the 29-year-old Orlando native. “Kind of get people talking about it.”
Nickell, the chef de cuisine at Funky Monkey on International Drive, did not say when her restaurant would open. She said the space, with a concentration on hearty, farm-to-table eats, would be located on Mills Avenue, at the former site of the downtown Funky Monkey location. The Mills 50 location closed in June so the owners, Nickell’s two dads, could focus on the Pointe Orlando location of Funky Monkey. ASH will be Nickell’s first restaurant.
“It’s exciting so we want to get as much people to notice as possible,” she said.
The annual food and wine event, which takes place along Robinson Street next to Lake Eola, features nearly 100 dishes from more than 30 restaurants. About 30,000 people are expected to attend the event over its two days, said Nick Smith, an event spokesman. As of Saturday afternoon, Smith said they’re pacing to have the most attended event yet. The festival reopens today at noon.
Smith said vendors know the event means great exposure, so many bring new dishes or drinks to introduce to attendees. “This is great because it’s an all-day event where people are trying … 100 menu items we have out here,” said Smith. While Nickell was introducing her future restaurant for the first time, others were looking to maintain momentum from successful openings in 2015.Daniel Barnard said his company purchased space for an Itta Bena booth as an extension of their ongoing marketing efforts. Itta Bena, with its speakeasy vibe, low lighting and live piano music, opened in June on I-Drive. Barnard’s portfolio also include Lafayette’s, a restaurant that opened in that tourism district in July. Barnard, a sales coordinator for the company, said Itta Bena has been represented at other festival-type events since opening as a way to make sure locals and tourists know about the new dining experience.
In true speak easy style, a word-of-mouth buzz has been getting around about Itta Bena, said Barnard. A greater public push, however, can only help the restaurant’s success because “it’s kind of been on the hush,” he said.
A food and wine festival is nothing without a little something to drink. Some vendors chose to pour drinks into plastic drink ware, while traditional beer sellers sold drinks by the can. The folks from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, however, were a mix of both worlds.
The California-based wine company sold Barefoot Refresh, a can-packaged wine spritzer available in red and white. The new product was first released in Florida on Feb. 1, said Shae Wilson, the Barefoot area manager for Florida and Alabama.
Wilson said Barefoot would be promoting the new product at 200 events in Florida. She said the convenient packaging of the new drink, with a 6.5-percent alcohol content, was the main reason Barefoot leaders wanted to bring it to the festival, an event where attendees walk from booth to booth. Desiree Ortiz had never heard of wine in a can before Saturday. The 21-year-old said revealing a new product at the event made sense. “I don’t think people would think to go out and buy it,” said Ortiz, of Brandon. “But, being here, I think it’s easy to just get it and you end up liking it.”