Restaurant Festival Leaves a Bad Taste
Sagging attendance figures at last month’s annual Taste of Orange County festival left organizers owing restaurants tens of thousands of dollars and sparked concern that this year’s event may well be the last, according to restaurateurs.
A Taste of Orange County Inc., the company that puts on one of the most popular summer festivals in Orange County, is struggling to repay restaurant owners for the food sold at the 11th annual event. The company is on the brink of filing for bankruptcy, according to the company attorney.
At least one owner, who said he is owed almost $10,000, has threatened to sue to recover his money.
The financial crunch has forced Taste and event organizers Dennis Yeomans and James Wurster, the company’s president, to give up a lease on an Irvine office and instead work from home.
“We’re hoping that the restaurants will be patient,” Yeomans said Friday. “A lot of these guys have seen a lot of benefit from the Taste of Orange County. We just got caught a little short this year.”
This year’s problems are not the first to befall event organizers. As the festival’s character changed--from a charity fund-raiser to a marketing extravaganza touting local businesses--the Internal Revenue Service two years ago withdrew tax-exempt status for Taste.
Three weeks ago, about 30 restaurants participated in the event, showcasing their cuisine to patrons who pay with tickets bought at the entrance. Festival organizers are supposed to reimburse the restaurants for the tickets they collect.
But the poor turnout this year jeopardized that plan. Organizers expected 100,000 to flock to the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to celebrate this year’s festival. In the past, performers like B.B. King and James Brown attracted crowds of up to 75,000.
But this time, organizers failed to lure a big name to the event, and attendance suffered, Yeomans said. He could not provide an attendance figure for this year’s event.
In a July 6 letter to creditors, Yeomans and Wurster apologized for the delay in returning the money and asked for more time to organize a payment plan.
The letter said revenue was 25% lower than last year’s and blamed the failure to attract enough event-goers for the shortfall. Wurster and Yeomans also acknowledged they made a mistake when they allowed the public free entry on the last day to the festival’s “Salute to the Military,” a special event marking the closure of the Marine base.
“However,” the letter continued, “we are confident that the TASTE can overcome this one-time setback and we look forward to a great event for the year 2000.”
That confidence offered small consolation to Cliff Huffstetler, who owns Cliff’s Ragin’ Cajun restaurants in Newport Beach and Fountain Valley.
Huffstetler, who is threatening to sue, said he has participated in the festival for at least five years. He blamed poor planning for its latest problems.
“It’s been good to me over the last few years, but things just didn’t look right this time,” Huffstetler said. “We were expecting a letter saying that they weren’t going to pay us this year. . . . I have strong feelings that this is the last Taste of Orange County.”
John St. John, an attorney for Taste, said the company may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if restaurateurs sue for their money. He and Yeomans said they were confident that given more time, organizers could pay off debts.
One possible solution, St. John said, would be to find a sponsor to financially back next year’s event and bail organizers out of their current mess.
Some restaurant owners said they won’t participate again because they doubt the organizers could come up with the money.
“I don’t have a good feeling about it, I’ll be honest with you,” said Seyed Miremadi, who owns Ferdussi: Taste of Persia in Santa Ana. He said he is owed at least $6,000. “If they’re short, they’re short. Where are they going to come up with the money?”
But others said they would give a Taste of Orange County a second chance.
“Everyone has good times and bad, especially in the restaurant business,” said Harald Herrmann, who co-owns the Yard House, a Long Beach restaurant owed about $15,000. “If Taste of Orange County can rebound and make good on their debts, I’d support them again. It’s a good event. It really depends how well they handle the situation.”
