Marc Lapides hopes that when in-person trade shows come back strong, he’ll be forced out of business. It’s an interesting mindset, but one that serves him well mid-pandemic in 2020: Serving a community in the way they need now, even though it may not be sustainable long-term.
That’s why the experienced trade show marketer—along with Chad Chappell, most recently a national sales director with The Expo Group, and one other industry colleague (yet to be publicly announced)—have come together to launch the American Restaurant & Food Service Virtual Expo.
Set to take place online March 21-22 next spring, the expo is a “realistic option for 2021,” says Lapides. He doesn’t want to call the show a competitor to the National Restaurant Association Show, which is currently scheduled to take place in Chicago May 22-25, 2021. In fact, Lapides spent several years overseeing marketing, communications and programming for the NRA Show, from 2017-2019. That’s a big reason he’s leading the charge for this new virtual show.
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