In its 12th year, Taste of Yaletown continues to nurture business prospects in the trendy Vancouver neighbourhood.
The event, which runs October 13–27, provides a showcase of local dining in share-plate styles at set-price costs.
Along the way, it has boosted business roughly 40% for area retailers and restaurateurs.
“Without the Taste of Yaletown event, we would certainly struggle to break even in the month of October,” said Brix & Mortar co-founder David Hannay.
“We need Taste of Yaletown to bring in people who wouldn’t normally dine out at these locations, and ultimately secure new customers.”
Hannay said the event also serves to persuade restaurant-goers to secure reservations for the month of December. Without the event, books wouldn’t normally be filled until the end of November.
The event is aimed at keeping patrons coming back by providing lowered prices, food variety and social inclusiveness.
Restaurant owners encourage chefs to use the time to get creative, taking advantage of the fall harvest’s variety of produce.
Iani Makris, co-owner of Yaletown’s The Greek, which also has a location in North Vancouver, said the difference in profits between his two restaurants during Taste of Yaletown is substantial.
“It is safe to say that during Taste of Yaletown our numbers at The Greek are roughly double what they are at our North Vancouver location, which does not have a similar event,” Makris said.
Attendance is also growing.
Annette O’Shea, executive director of the Yaletown Business Improvement Association (YBIA), said in a phone interview with Business in Vancouver that the popularity of the Taste of Yaletown event has risen drastically over the years.
“We now know due to our PR efforts that the Taste of Yaletown event reaches roughly one in three Vancouverites,” O’Shea said.
“When we first started it was maybe one in 20. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of both weeks are already sold out.”
O’Shea has been at the helm of YBIA for 11 years and has watched Vancouver evolve into the food mecca it is today.
According to Tourism Vancouver, Metro Vancouver received more than 9.3 million overnight visitors in 2015, including 5.6 million from within Canada and 2.1 million from the U.S.
The weak Canadian dollar has helped entice overnight U.S. visitors to attend events like Taste of Yaletown.
According to the YBIA, the event costs roughly $25,000 to produce, and marketing efforts have expanded to Kelowna, Victoria, Seattle and Portland.
“When I speak to local restaurants about the event the general response is, ‘It’s a no-brainer; you have to do Taste of Yaletown.’ It has become something people look forward to,” O’Shea said.
Word of mouth continues to be a powerful method of marketing, as event attendees inevitably pass along recommendations to their network, citing their favourite venues and keeping business within the community.
“Nearly every night, we hear from a guest that they were referred to Brix & Mortar from another Yaletown restaurant,” Hannay said.
“We feel confident sending our guests local because we know there is a great deal of pride and energy in Yaletown restaurants.” •
