The second-most asked question at meetings and events is “Which way to the _ Ballroom?”
The answer is likely along the lines of “Down the hall, turn left, double doors.”
The most-asked question is, “Where should we eat?”
OC’s answer is, “Everywhere.”
Local restaurants are upping their eating game big time as meetings and conventions continue to drive travel to key cities and boost the economic impact to the county overall (see chart, page 62).
OC’s epicenter for travel and tourism is often Anaheim—Anaheim Convention Center and Disneyland Resort and thousands of hotel rooms—but other areas more than hold their own including coastal areas and key pockets where the foodie revolution continues fighting its culinary battles.
The county’s comestibles are far from an after-thought in the minds of meeting planners—and attendees—and hotel food offerings often compete with stand-alone restaurants attracting larger groups. Hospitality providers responding to the “room and bored” issue then must renovate and reimagine their work and all benefit.
Especially at lunch.
Boon
Restaurants have begun to be seen as a beneficiary and booster for meetings, conventions, incentive-based travel and other events.
“As larger groups come to town, restaurants play a huge part in making a successful citywide event,” Jay Burress, president and chief executive of Visit Anaheim, which promotes the city for business and leisure travel. “It’s big.”
Restaurants typically earn much higher profit margins on group events, when compared to normal diners.
The Business Journal reported in May on Burress’ group hosting IPW, a five-day gathering at the convention center held in June, which showcased the area for groups that bring future event bookings and tourism and restaurants were key to that, putting their best food forward for attendees.
Burress has long wanted greater exposure for area restaurants and Visit Anaheim incorporates them into convention bids and other pitches.
“Having enough off-site venues for entertainment and dining is huge,” when the area presents a package to groups planning events, said Burress, whose group is often a “matchmaker” between clients and restaurants.
Bussers
Restaurants can drive the local travel industry’s tour bus—and not just at hotels.
“Clients are looking for restaurants that have private rooms and can cater to large groups,” Burress said. “That can offer something unique and personalized.”
The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon, an eatery a few miles from the convention center is “aggressive” in approaching group business, according to Marketing Director Heather Heleloa.
“We make sure we are an expansion of the convention center,” Heleloa said. “We also work with other restaurants in the area” to coordinate schedules. If the Ranch can’t accommodate a group in the area, another restaurant might.
It’s active in drawing attention to itself online—SEO strategy is a thing for them—and touts customizable space, menus and audiovisual elements to secure groups including Microsoft, Google, Kaiser, and Boys & Girls Clubs.
“We are only limited by our client’s creativity,” she said.
Brilliance
Creativity extends to menus—and how to fit everyone into one space.
The Ranch’s Executive Chef Michael Rossi can customize meals for groups with bigger budgets. Burress said he’s seen sites craft menus themed to match groups, such as a heart-healthy menu for the American Heart Association.
“If a restaurant has farm to table options, that’s a huge plus,” Burress said.
House of Blues, at Anaheim GardenWalk, has added items by request, including poke and street tacos.
Senior Sales Manager Vanessa Burroughs said the venue loves its group business and would shut down regularly for private events if it could: they’re far more lucrative than a standard reservation-filled evening, she said.
If there aren’t full buyouts, the restaurant “plays Tetris” to fit several smaller groups into its space at the same time.
She said HOB acts as its own meeting planner, working with groups to secure everything from food to linens to the security for guests, if needed.
The restaurant is owned by L.A.-based Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: LYV), which makes it a magnet for high-profile guests and gives it access to talent for entertaining them.
Beachfront
Coastal restaurants are farther from the convention center, but it doesn’t seem to matter; the Pacific Ocean works as a nice backdrop as well.
Monarch Bay Club at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point closed and reopened earlier this year for a renovation that expanded its bar and added a private entrance to the beach. The 400-room resort regularly touts its seven other food and beverage venues as part of its meeting space offerings, including Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak, which opened last year in the space of its previous Stonehill Tavern.
Balboa Bay Resort has been marketing its two restaurants, Waterline and A&O, as options for small group events or buyouts. The hotel, with about 160 rooms, shuttered its First Cabin restaurant for Waterline in 2014 and recently went through another revamp with an upgraded patio and private lounge area.
Farther up the coast, Westin Long Beach, amid a $23 million overall renovation, opened the new Navy Proof Food & Spirits, which hypes locally sourced seafood and meat, and seasonal ingredients to tie-in with dining trends.
With its “New American” fare, the restaurant shops a tableside cocktail service, with drinks created for larger parties, or larger drinks designed for at least two people.
Also marketing a seasonal and local menu is Watertable at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. It just received an Award of Excellence designation in Wine Spectator’s 2019 Restaurant Awards.
Bravo
Indie restaurants in the area—those not tied-in closely with a resort area or hotel—aim at upscale tasting menus and different dinner experiences to encourage group buyouts or events.
Fleming’s in Newport Beach, for instance, sounds transcendent notes: “unique, 360-degree culinary experience” to “truly immerse guests using all five senses,” said President Beth Scott.
The restaurant shuts off a dining room and adds “virtual panoramic projections and natural sounds” to evoke “ocean, farms and vineyards that inspired the menu selections.”
An example: a wagyu ribeye medallion with root vegetables paired with Daou Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles.
Olea Newport Beach is only open for dinner—it highlights a patio for private receptions—but said group buyouts are popular for private lunches.
Costa Mesa has taken all this a step further: branding the city for several years as a foodie destination, complete with its own trademarked term: Eatcation. The website for the city’s destination marketer Travel Costa Mesa, frequently highlights venues for group travel. Old Vine Café at The Camp, for instance, has been a popular group choice for its fixed-price wine-pairing meals.
