About Us
The Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops is the largest two-day food festival in the United States. It began in 1984 with 22 restaurants on Main Street and has doubled in size, growing to it's permanent home on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, NY. The Taste is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the State of New York and is run by an all-volunteer board of directors, and event management and sponsorship agency and supported by approximately 1,000 dedicated volunteers.
The mission of the Taste of Buffalo is to promote the City of Buffalo and showcase the greater Buffalo area restaurants and businesses by providing an affordable and enjoyable weekend festival that takes place in an inclusive and socially responsible manner for all.
Named one of "10 Best Food and Wine festivals you can feel good about attending," by USA Today. Your purchases at the Taste help make possible donations to over 20 local charities and annual scholarships awarded to WNY students pursuing a culinary or hospitality degree. To date, over $606,000 has been donated.
The future dates of the Taste of Buffalo are:
July 11 & 12, 2026
July 10 & 11, 2027
Board of Directors
Officers
ChairAdam C. Roma, Principal Financial Group |
SecretaryLori Rizzo, Gibraltar Industries - VP/Corporate Controller |
1st Vice ChairPeter Sass, A-Kleen Windows, Inc./Bugg Control, Inc. |
TreasurerChristine Petrillo, Ken-Ton Union Free School District |
2nd Vice ChairBrendan Orr, NFTA |
Past ChairMatthew J. Reis, Tallinger Associates, Foodservice Design |
Directors
| Paul Avery, Esq., Bond, Schoeneck & King | Cinnamon Morris, HoneyHaus PR |
| Greg Beckwith, NFTA-Metro | Valerie Pillo, Clarivate Analytics |
| Douglas Boehm, Element Materials Technology | Rachel Pearson Rajan, MergerShark |
| Becky Chambers, Delaware North/Erie Sportservice LLC | Mark Reimann, Joblio, Inc. |
| William Fahs, HSBC | Theresa Roma, Wellthy |
| Timothy Herzog, Flying Bisons Brewing Company | Mark Zawodzinski, Integer Holdings Corporation* |
| Dominic LoVallo, Spectrum News 1 | Amanda Ziegler, University at Buffalo |
Ex-Officio
| James K. Morrell*, NFTA-Metro |
| Tom Muscarella*, Erie County Department of Health |
| W. Morgan Smith, Buffalo Place, Inc. |
Advisory Committee
| Luke Baecker*, Roofers Local No. 74/203 Benefit Funds |
| Ann Hackett*, aHa! Designs |
Sponsorship Sales
| Judy Sperry, Judith A. Sperry Consulting | ||
Event Managers
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