Interest in Zoobilee good sign for economy

PBN Staff

04/16/2011

A perennial on the local food-and-wine-event calendar may be a harbinger of optimism about the local economy and has been the inspiration for success in at least one other city. Roger Williams Park Zoo’s annual fundraising bash, Zoobilee, Feast with the Beasts, is set for Saturday, June 25.
The zoo is reaching out to area restaurants, businesses and foundations to be part of the popular tasting event. It is from the restaurant community that the optimism comes. The early signings of interested venues are most encouraging.
Benjamin Sibielski, integrated media coordinator at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, says that the entire Newport Harbor Corporation restaurant group has signed to be at this year’s Zoobilee. As partygoers stroll through the zoo at twilight, they will be able to sample specialties from Castle Hill Inn, 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar & Grille, The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar, The Boat House Restaurant, Hemenway’s, Waterman Grille, and the Smoke House restaurants. In the past, only Hemenway’s has participated. In all, last year’s Zoobilee featured more than 40 area restaurants and caterers serving up some of their signature dishes. Sibielski said, “We will have more variety than ever at this year’s bash. Already, we can announce that Asian Palace and Shula’s 347 Grill are returning for another year.”
The enthusiasm of restaurants to sign up for this year’s 19th Zoobilee follows on the heels of record attendance at food-service trade and business events in the state and in Boston. This year’s restaurant expo at the Boston Convention Center set a record for visitors. More than 28,000 restaurateurs, chefs and other industry professionals showed up to see what was new and to make deals. Overflow crowds came to two of the large distributor trade shows earlier this month in Providence and at Gillette Stadium.
In talking with business owners and executive chefs on the show floor, I found the mood much more upbeat than a year ago. Restaurateurs have their fingers crossed that this upcoming spring and summer will bring out pent-up consumer demand from those who have weathered the economic storm of the past two years. Of course, much of this demand and optimism will depend on fuel prices. Prevailing sentiment among the restaurant community is if gas prices stabilize or come down, conditions will be favorable for consumer spending this summer, while keeping many vacationers traveling within a day’s drive. In addition to the foodies, Zoobilee has attracted the attention of zoo officials across the country. Susan Altieri, director of development and special events of the Little Rock, Ark., zoo was familiar with Roger Williams Park Zoo through family ties to Rhode Island. From her colleagues at zoos all over the country, she learned how popular Zoobilee had become and how it was the signature event of the Providence zoo.
Four years ago while visiting family in Rhode Island she attended Zoobilee and mingled with the guests. She was duly impressed. “We were doing a small wine-tasting event at our zoo but felt we were missing out on nonwine drinkers and others.” Altieri especially liked the music component of Zoobilee and the large dance floor that has become as much a part of the event as the food. The Little Rock zoo now throws a party called, “Wild Wines of the World and More.” In addition to food and wine, there is a German beer garden, a Russian vodka bar and some adventurous foods such as shark etouffee, a spicy, thick, dark Cajun stew usually made with crawfish or shrimp and vegetables. The event at the Arkansas zoo is set for mid-May.
Last year’s Zoobilee raised more than $300,000 in proceeds for the zoo; the event has raised over $4 million since its inception in 1993. The funds generated help underwrite the zoo’s award-winning environmental education and conservation programs, including the conservation of threatened and endangered species around the world and important community outreach efforts, such as the Zoomobile, which reach more than 60,000 school-aged children and other participants per year.
By the way, Susan Altieri says the Italian restaurants in Little Rock don’t hold a candle to ours in Rhode Island. They may have us beat on shark etouffee, however. &#8226

Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show can be heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and stations throughout New England. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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