The Specialty Food Association, which hosts an annual winter food show, announced this week that it is moving its three-day 2022 event from its traditional home at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Bill Lynch, president of the association, said: “We are excited to be partnering with a premier trade show destination like Las Vegas, which has been the leader in the return of in-person events.”
The San Francisco Business Times reported September 22 that according to its research, “the event was one of the city’s largest conventions … and typically drew about 13,500 attendees each year.”
“Its 45th annual show included more than 80,000 products and booked about 3,600 rooms worth of hotel business in the Bay Area,” the Business Times reported. “Last year’s show in January 2020 slid into the city right before the pandemic and included more than 1,400 food companies and manufacturers – many of which are based throughout the Bay Area. Event organizers in the city have long complained about the city’s high costs and poor street conditions. They’ve also been critical of state and local restrictions on large events since the pandemic began.”