The second annual Coral Gables Restaurant Week offered sponsorship opportunities to local businesses for the first time this year, securing Miami-based Bacardi USA as its top partner.
Instead of the title and presenting sponsorship options organizers presented for $25,000 and $15,000, respectively, Bacardi signed on with a tailor-made sponsorship package (at an undisclosed price) that includes a Bacardi cocktail served in each of the participating restaurants.
“We were testing how the title sponsorship would work and it wasn’t something that Bacardi or we were ready to take the plunge with, so they started off as the special sponsor this year and we’ll see how it works for next year,” said Mari Molina, executive director of the Coral Gables Business Improvement District, which organizes the event. “When we decided to bring them to the table, we wanted to make sure we really paid attention to them and made it a win-win for all involved."
The spirits company will launch a new cocktail during the promotion, after spending the past two weeks teaching local bartenders how to make and present the hand-shaken daiquiri and leaving posters and table tents at participating venues to promote the drink.
The two-week event begins with the inaugural Taste of the Gables kick-off event tonight in the breezeway between the Sports Exchange and Tarpon Bend on Miracle Mile. Molina and her team added the food tasting to offer local residents a chance to sample dishes the 23 participating restaurants (five more than participated last year) will be serving during the discount period June 1 through 14.
