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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Dining deals in the offing; magazine now online
A week's worth of discounts and deals at restaurants this November may draw diners down paths not previously ventured, in a culinary, Robert Frost sort of way.
The words
Culinary Institute of the Pacific often appear alongside the word fundraiser. That sentence was no different, as CIP and its industry friends prepare for the inaugural Restaurant Week Hawaii Nov. 16 to 22.
For this fundraising, the institute is doing some "friendraising," said Conrad Nonaka, CIP director.
The institute is looking for more restaurant industry players and corporate sponsors to sign up, as that is the way funds will be raised.
Restaurant companies can become sponsors for $250 to $5,000, while corporate sponsorships are from $2,500 to $25,000.
Many cities have a restaurant week each year "to help the economy and help the industry," Nonaka said.
The Hawaii event will do that too, but the primary goal is to raise awareness of and funds for CIP, so "the students of Hawaii, to move ahead, don't have to go to the Culinary Institute of America or Johnson & Wales," he said.
The Restaurant Week committee includes dozens of industry-folk, including distributors, white-tablecloth restaurants and quick-service players. The institute wanted a range represented "so that we had industry buy-in to the Restaurant Week Hawaii concept," he said. The week before Thanksgiving was chosen after a massive calendar coordination effort.
Some participating purveyors will offset product prices so the restaurants aren't eating the entire cost, "so it's a full circle of support, not only from the restaurants, but from the farmers, vendors and manufacturers," Nonaka said.
"This is an opportunity to ... entice the customers to come in and give us a try and at the same time support a good cause," Nonaka said.
NO TREES WERE HARMED
A new online-only magazine launched from Hawaii yesterday.
The announcement of Amateur Economists magazine went out nationwide via news release distribution services and the news was grabbed by many Web sites.
Editor and Publisher Anthony Luafalealo has "always had an interest in economics and the way it affects other areas of society," he said. The stories are not all about money.
He is focused on the publication full-time, following his previous jobs in information technology and the military. He is financing the venture and hiring freelance writers out of his own pocket, for now.
He hopes that by the end of the year the site will become self-sustaining and maybe even profitable through advertising and linkage with news aggregation sites. Google News has just accepted him, he said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com