SPONSOR LOGISTICS

MANDATORY SPONSOR MEETING

THURSDAY, April 17th @ 1:00PM CST

MEETING RECORDING

ALL SPONSORS MUST HAVE 1 REPRESENTATIVE ON THE ZOOM CALL. 

Please email ksomday@diningout.com if you have questions or scheduling conflicts. 

During this call you will:

  • Receive detailed load in/load out instructions

  • Receive blind judging information (for cocktail competition)

  • Confirm power and equipment needs

  • Ask any questions you have prior to the big event!

Location: POST Houston

Address: 401 Franklin Street, Houston, TX 77201

Top Taco HTX will take place in the main parking lot on the Southwest side of the building off Franklin Street and Bagby.

MetroRail - Take the MetroRail Red Line to Preston Station. Walk north along Main St. then turn left onto Congress St.
‍Continue walking 4 blocks west along Congress St. until crossing Buffalo Bayou at the Congress St. bridge.
‍Cross Franklin St. at the traffic light and arrive at POST.

Ride share (Lyft/Uber) drop off is at the 713 Music Hall.

 

Vendor/Staff Entrance & Parking

Vendor/Staff Entrance is located on Bagby street (red star). Please be sure you have all staff wearing wristbands on site during the day of the event. At 4pm there will be a security sweep and anyone without a wristband will have to leave site.

Vendors and staff can park in any of the paid lots at POST or in the surrounding neighborhood. The closest outside parking lot is located across Bagby street. Please see additional parking information here: https://www.posthtx.com/visit

LOAD IN/LOAD OUT

LOAD IN LOCATION: FRANKLIN AND BAGBY STREET

All sponsors will load in on Wednesday, April 23rd between 12pm and 5pm.

Turn onto Bagby Street from Franklin Street and take a right info the event parking lot. Stop at the Vendor/Restaurant Check In tent where DiningOut staff will meet you with your restaurant packet and direct you to your space.

DO NOT leave your vehicle unattended in the loading area. Unload and move you car directly to the Vendor/Staff parking area.

You will be able to drive in to Load In, but please bring carts and dolly’s for Load Out, as we will not be able to allow cars in until all guests have left the event site and your space is completely packed up.

Load In / Load Out

  • ALL SPONSORS MUST LOAD IN ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23rd between 12-5pm.

    Upon arrival, please check in with festival staff to pick up your festival packet and we will direct you to your space.

    We will have staff ready to help you load in when you arrive.

    Top Taco gates open at 6pm on Thursday, April 24th. ALL BOOTHS MUST BE SET UP AND READY TO GO BY 4:00PM.

    The venue will be under security surveillance overnight, but please be sure you do not leave any alcohol or personal items on Wednesday or Thursday evening. DiningOut Events is not responsible for any items left unattended at your booth prior, during, or after the festival.

  • Load out will take place after the event and can continue on Friday morning, April 25th. All spaces must be cleared by 12pm on April 25th.

    If you are planning on picking up items Friday morning, please clean and pack up your space on Thursday evening before leaving. You are responsible for disposing of any trash and picking up all items from your booth.

    Any items left in your space after 12pm Friday (trash or otherwise) will be discarded and you will be charged a cleaning fee.

    Please let your staff know so that they can plan accordingly. Our staff will be working hard to break down the festival, so please help us make the load out process as easy as possible!

Equipment

    • Two tables + 1 linen upon request

    • Standard Festival Banner (unless you are bringing a branded tent)

    • Ice

    Please leave your tables and linen at your space for event staff to collect at the end of the evening.

    • 1500 Samples

    • 5 staff to distribute samples & interact with attendees

    • Fun booth decor

    • Compostable sample cups (9oz or smaller)

    • Gloves, hand washing station (if creating a cocktail, handling ice, or fruit)

    • EXTENSION CORDS

  • IF YOU ARE MAKING A COCKTAIL AT YOUR BOOTH (WHICH MEANS HANDLING ICE AND/OR CUTTING FRUIT), YOU MUST PROVIDE:

    • 5 gallon cambro

    • Catch bucket for under the cambro for gray water

    • Heating Coils and a Floating Thermometer to make sure water is at 110 degrees

    • Plastic Gloves

    The Health Department will be inspecting all booths and will not allow your to serve without all above items. Please let us know if you have questions prior to festival week.