The Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA) is a non-profit trade association that promotes the interests of the restaurant industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2008, the organization was looking for a way to shine a spotlight on San Francisco as an international culinary destination and San Francisco’s food, wine & spirits festival was born. For six years, we developed the festival’s culinary programming and secured the participation of more 200 local and national chefs and restaurants. Additionally, each year we raised more than $2 million in cash and trade sponsorships and ran successful marketing and PR campaigns to sell-out the 7,500 ticket event. The festival achieved its initial goal and has become a rallying point for the city’s vibrant and diverse culinary community. In 2014, we were thrilled that the festival achieved long-term financial viability and the GGRA was able to bring the bulk of its production in-house.