Maximize Your Impact At National Restaurant Association Show 2026
The National Restaurant Association Show 2026, taking place May 16–19 at McCormick Place in Chicago, is one of the most influential gatherings for foodservice professionals and decision-makers across North America and beyond. This event brings together leaders driving purchasing, innovation, and strategic direction in restaurants, hospitality, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. Attendees span a wide range of roles—from owners and C-suite executives of restaurant groups and foodservice providers to procurement directors and operations leads.
Business decisions made here impact annual supplier contracts, emerging food technologies, kitchen equipment investments, and vendor partnerships across the entire value chain. The show also serves as a premier environment for sourcing innovative solutions, exploring brand collaborations, and evaluating software and hardware platforms that streamline operations and improve margins.
Access to Vendelux’s enriched attendee list allows your team to see which enterprise operators, franchise executives, regional buyers, and tech evaluators are confirmed or predicted to attend. With this insight, your outreach can be grounded in each prospect’s business model and timed to support meeting goals well ahead of the event.
How Sales, Marketing and Revops Teams Can Use This Attendee List
National Restaurant Association Show attendees include multi-location restaurant operators, contract foodservice buyers, and technology decision-makers looking to demo new products and finalize procurement plans. Sales and marketing teams can segment contacts by company model—such as quick-service chains versus fine dining groups—and align their messaging to each audience’s operational priorities.
Using the enriched conference attendee list, it’s possible to identify key contacts by title and seniority, distinguishing between founders, innovation officers, and purchasing managers. Teams can then tailor their outreach to focus on solutions that support cost control, operational efficiency, workforce retention, or sustainability—core goals for foodservice leaders in 2026.
Knowing who will attend allows teams to prioritize high-value accounts, secure early meetings with decision-makers, and schedule in-person demos. Post-show follow-ups can also be targeted based on attendee interest areas captured onsite, helping transform initial conversations into long-term strategic partnerships. If you’re working on how to get more meetings before showtime, the attendee data makes it possible to move from cold outreach to context-driven engagement.
Timing Is Everything
National Restaurant Association Show 2026 is scheduled for May 16–19, 2026. With over 50,000 professionals expected, getting on attendees’ calendars early is a key step to improving conversion rates and return on event investment.
Vendelux gives your team the ability to start well before the doors open—using the enriched attendee list to identify key prospects, set meeting goals, and develop booth or demo strategies. Reach out to top accounts in Q4 2025 or early Q1 2026 to secure time before their schedules are full. Sync your outreach calendar to the attendee insights to ensure your talking points align with their priorities and event objectives.
What’s Included In The National Restaurant Association Show 2026 Attendee List?
Vendelux provides visibility into executives expected to attend the National Restaurant Association Show 2026 through a combination of organizer data and proprietary predictive insights. Clients can upload a list of key targets to find account matches in the attendee list and prioritize outreach accordingly.
The enriched list includes each contact’s first and last name, job title, company name, company website, location including city, state, and country, LinkedIn profile, verified email address, and phone number when available.
Where Is National Restaurant Association Show 2026?
The event will be held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
When Is National Restaurant Association Show 2026?
National Restaurant Association Show 2026 will take place from May 16 to May 19, 2026.
What Type Of Event Is National Restaurant Association Show 2026?
National Restaurant Association Show 2026 is a leading B2B trade show focused on the foodservice and hospitality industries. The agenda features product showcases, keynote speakers, live demonstrations, educational panels, and scheduled networking sessions. It is a key setting for supply chain evaluations, menu innovation, tech adoption, and franchise development.
How Many People Attend National Restaurant Association Show 2026?
The event is expected to draw more than 50,000 attendees from over 100 countries. The audience includes executives, founders, buyers, chefs, and operational directors from major restaurant brands, hotel groups, contract dining services, distributors, and tech providers. A large percentage of attendees hold decision-making roles across sourcing, operations, and vendor partnerships.
