The Personality of The NRA Show 2016

Gamers have E3, Technology has CES, and Tabletop has the NRA Show… or more appropriately: The National Restaurant Association Show. This year over 67 thousand people made the journey to Chicago and packed into a record setting 680,000 square feet in the McCormick center. Aisles flooded with new innovative products to help push the guest dining experience forward. After day one of the show we couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed.

However, it was very clear that the Tabletop category came out swinging with their A-game.

We had companies like Rak Porcelain USA making their debut on the NRA Show floor and showing off fantastic products like their Neo-Fusion, Arc Cardinal announced their brand new partnership with fan favorite ceramicist Jono Pandolfi, and 10 Strawberry Street, a leader in catering and retail, came out ready to make their mark in mainstream hospitality. Not to mention companies like Steelite, Libbey, Fortessa, and DW Haber all making their marks at the show with new products, catalogs, partnerships, and faces as well!

And with over 2 thousand exhibitors, lets just say there was no shortage of innovation and trend setting. If you were looking for something tabletop and didn’t find it at the NRA Show, chances are it just simply doesn’t exist.

   

So where does that leave us?

…Yes there was a lot of great new tabletop products, but it wasn’t just that. There was personality to this year’s show. Just like chefs and restauranteurs, tabletop suppliers have a story to tell. A dream to share. And, ultimately, a way to change the world… one guest dining experience at a time.

Which is why the saying still stands: #TabletopMatters.

We’ve got tons of stories, personalities, and people from the show that we’ll be sharing with you all weekly through our various YouTube series and through articles on our site.

If you’re interested in seeing a little more about what NRA 2016 had to offer you can check out our NRA Show 2016 Update Series we did daily during the show.

-H.A.