Not many things in the food world are more iconic than flipping pizza dough. That’s why Glenn Celentano believes the Pizza Tomorrow Summit must be an in-person event.

"You can’t taste a digital ad. You can’t put your hands in the dough or feel the heat of an oven looking at a magazine," says Celentano, founder of the summit and partner and CEO of Restaurant Events LLC. "The pizza industry is truly a community, and operators enjoy sharing best practices with each other, as well as helping each other solve problems. Networking is a huge part of our event experience."

The second Pizza Tomorrow Summit, held in November 2023 at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), was co-located alongside the recently acquired Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show and attracted 4,000 industry professionals, including pizza makers, chefs and restaurateurs.

"The expanded event featured the U.S. Pizza Team culinary and acrobatic trials, where the winners won a fully paid trip to Parma, Italy, to compete in the International Pizza Games," Celentano says. "There were over 50 educational sessions over the two days, as well as a Culinary Innovation Theater that featured cooking demonstrations and competitions. Attendance grew by 70% versus our launch year, which was dampened by Hurricane Nicole."

Being called to the U.S. Pizza Team competition awards stage, receiving a plaque and a personalized chef’s coat and being named an honorary member of the U.S. Pizza Team was a personal 2023 show highlight for Celentano.

Checking all the boxes

One challenge facing the Pizza Tomorrow Summit in year two was suppliers wanting to participate but needing to find the budget, as this is a new event on the calendar.

"We came out of nowhere, but clearly, they found the money and the show was a success!" Celentano says. "There is another trade show that services the pizza industry out in Las Vegas, but what makes ours unique is that we deliver a different audience. While they are a legacy trade show, the majority of their geographic pull is from the West Coast, while ours features buyers from the eastern half of the country—where 80% of the U.S. population resides. This show will continue to grow as the word about us continues to spread."

Measuring the success of the Pizza Tomorrow Summit relates more to the quality of the audience than filling the room.

"We want to hear from our exhibitors that they were seeing all the right people and business is getting done," Celentano says. "We also want our attendees to find answers to their problems. Our educational sessions were quick hitting and provided our audience with solutions that could be implemented immediately. We also had every industry segment represented on the trade show floor to source new products. We checked all those boxes."

Here for the long term

Celentano, who has worked for major trade show companies for more than 25 years, says the OCCC has always been his favorite event venue.

"When I started my own company and launched the Pizza Tomorrow Summit, I could have put it in any venue on the East Coast—New York, Boston, Philadelphia, D.C.—but Orlando was the ONLY place I wanted to be," he says. "The OCCC and Visit Orlando teams are unmatched. I expect the highest levels of customer service from my team, and I have that same expectation of our venue and contractor partners. I knew what to expect in Orlando—and as always, they delivered. We are here for the long term and are looking forward to growing in that incredible facility!"

Mark Tester, executive director for the OCCC, says the Pizza Tomorrow Summit was a clear success based on attendee and exhibitor feedback.

"There was a great deal of education and demonstrations held on the show floor, which kept attendees engaged and visiting various vendors," he says. "With the availability of a different exhibit hall for the 2023 event, the OCCC was able to offer natural gas to exhibitors, which allowed vendors to showcase a wider range of ovens and further allowing exhibitors to display and demonstrate a wider variety of product offerings. This helped with the overall success of the Pizza Tomorrow Summit."

WHAT’S NEW IN ORLANDO FOR MEETING PLANNERS

Hotels and resorts. Evermore Orlando Resort is Orlando’s first beach-like property with an eight-acre Crystal Lagoon and a 20-acre sandy beach. Conrad Orlando, the destination’s first Hilton luxury brand, has 433 guest rooms, a spa and 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space. Aloft Orlando Lake Nona includes 205 loft-style guest rooms, 15 suites, a sportsthemed restaurant and a 10,000-square-foot event center.

Premium business travel. The Brightline high-speed railway is now carrying passengers from Miami, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, to Orlando, with 30 daily trips. The Orlando station is located next to the new South Terminal Complex at Orlando International Airport.

New dining and entertainment venues. Pointe Orlando in the Convention District will debut a trio of new indoor/outdoor entertainment spaces including Sports & Social, a PBR Cowboy Bar and Live! Plaza. AREA15—Las Vegas’ award-winning immersive and experiential art, entertainment, dining and retail district—is coming to Orlando with distinctive attractions, interactive art installations and ground-breaking technology. EET, the only Indian-inspired restaurant in Disney Springs, is now open from Food Network’s Maneet Chauhan.