Food Fair Organizers Say Event Was a Fiscal Failure

Owners of 39 San Fernando Valley restaurants and two charities have been told it is “unlikely” they will receive their share of sales from the Valley Food Festival because the event failed to make enough money.

Several sponsors of the event, which was held Aug. 4-6 at Northridge Fashion Center, said Wednesday they had not received their portions of the proceeds. The Los Angeles Times, one of the sponsors, donated $130,000 in advertising, but the company has not received any of the $25,000 the organizers pledged to donate to the Los Angeles Times Fund, a charity for underprivileged children, said Times spokeswoman Laura Morgan.

Other sponsors included American Express, American Airlines, Evian water, Vons Grocery Co. and the California Lottery.

Attendance Off

Jason Cayne, a partner with the Richman Cayne Organization of Canoga Park, which organized the event, said 30,000 to 40,000 people were expected to attend the heavily publicized event, but that only about 9,100 showed up. That left the organization $120,000 to $140,000 in debt, he said.

The organization notified the restaurant owners in letters received this week that the festival was “a physical success and a fiscal disaster.”

Cayne said the organization will make every effort to repay the restaurant owners and sponsors.

Those attending the fair paid a $5 entry fee and bought food showcasing the restaurants’ cuisine. Under an arrangement between the restaurants and the Cayne Organization, restaurateurs were to be reimbursed 75% of proceeds from food sales, and a portion of the remainder was to be donated to the Times Fund and to the Make A Wish Foundation of Los Angeles, a charity for terminally ill children, Morgan said.

Restaurateurs were scheduled to meet with representatives of the sponsors tonight at Akbar Restaurant in Encino to discuss their claims. Cayne said he would try to attend.