Customers check out some of the vendors at the 2012 edition of the Taste of Chicago, which was shortened to five days and pushed back until after the July 4 holiday. (Credit: CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) — Despite its smaller size and shorter run, the Taste of Chicago is still “not close to breaking even” financially.
Cultural Affairs Commissioner Michelle Boone says the city’s “still reconciling” the cost of city services before releasing a final financial report on the revamped 2012 Taste.
However, she told a city council budget committee that–despite the fact that restaurants saw their highest profits in five years–it still cost the city $6 million to stage the event.
This year’s Taste was just five days, in a move to cut costs on an event that has lost money in recent years.
It also included fewer vendors than past years, but many of the stalwarts remained – including Robinson’s Ribs, Eli’s Cheesecake, and the Billy Goat Tavern.
Opening a week after July 4, rather than starting in late June and ending on the Independence Day holiday, crowds were noticeably smaller than most previous years.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger Reports
