Feeding Newport Beach is BIG Business

We drive past dozens in just the span of a mile and see hundreds every week. They are on every street corner from one end of the city to another, and they help support this town as much as any other type of business. They are the restaurants, fast food establishments and diners scattered all over Newport Beach—almost 400 of them in the space of just about 50 square miles. That’s eight every square mile!

And while we take these eateries for granted, we must be thankful since they bring in almost 20 percent of all the tax revenue for Newport Beach.

Peggy Fort, owner of California Marketing Concepts and a Director for Newport Beach Restaurant Week, which is held every winter, shares that “the food service industry in 2010 brought in over $4.6M in tax revenue, which usually leads the city in revenue generation along with the auto industry. They generally trade off between first or second in most years”

If you consider the price of many of the cars that are sold in Newport, that is some serious revenue. And that responsibility is not taken lightly or for granted. In the state of California there are only two cities that actually have Restaurant “BIDS”, or business improvement districts. Even nationwide there are very few cities that provide such a joint partnership and mindset.

To become a “culinary destination” does not happen by accident. Newport Beach certainly deserves that title.

Newport has actually spawned a few large names or been the start of a few chains that have grown significantly over the years, including steaks,, and the famous , which started at the end of Balboa Pier in the eighties.

How many more new eateries will start in this terrific (and hungry) town? During this economic downturn the number of new establishments opening is greater than the ones that have closed, which is good, but every business and every restaurant must always keep a wary eye out.

Times have changed and everyone wants value and a unique dining experience, so the 2-for-1 coupons and Groupon and similar deals, which have been prominent in Newport Beach, will continue for the foreseeable future. Now that summer has finally begun get out there and enjoy a good meal. Try some place new, somewhere you have never been and keep the business in town.