Council of Independent Restaurants of America (CIRA) Chooses CAP Creative for Agency

CAP Creative
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Sarasota, FL 34236
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CONTACT:
Sam Stern
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION CHOOSES LOCAL FIRM
Council of Independent Restaurants of America Picks CAP Creative

Sarasota, FL-Roxanne Joffe, president, and Sam Stern, CEO, of CAP Creative, an Advertising and Public Relations firm specializing in Brand Development and Management, have announced that their company has won the Council of Independent Restaurant of America (CIRA) account. "We're thrilled," said Joffe, "and very honored." Joffe said CIRA first became interested in her firm when they saw the work CAP had been doing for the local chapter of the organization. "CIRA saw what we had done for the Sarasota-Manatee Originals and decided they'd put us on the short list in their Agency search. When they held their annual board of directors meeting here in Sarasota this spring, we had a chance to meet face-to-face," she said.

"We did a lot of research for the Sarasota-Manatee Originals," said Stern. "Once we defined the essence of the Brand for the local chapter, Don Luria, president of CIRA, was anxious to meet," he said. Stern and Joffe had their initial meeting with CIRA board members in May. "We had a couple follow-up dinner meetings at some truly outstanding restaurants," he said, "and we finalized the deal last week."

"I'm very impressed with the Branding work CAP did for the Sarasota-Manatee Originals," said Luria. He said the firm's I'm an Original concept was something he hoped to incorporate into CIRA's national campaign. "Our mission statement is Preserving Our Communities' Culinary Sense of Place," he said, "and developing a memorable Brand that identifies our 800 member restaurants in the consumer's mind is extremely important." Collectively, CIRA members generate $1.4 billion in sales yearly.

About CIRA
The roots for CIRA began to grow almost simultaneously in the fall of 1998. In Washington, DC, Robert Kinkead, proprietor of Kinkead's started talking to fellow restaurateurs he knew in various locations throughout America about forming a national association dedicated to furthering the interests of independent operators. Meanwhile, in Tucson, Don Luria, Pat Connors and Janos Wilder had just formed a group of independents called the Tucson Originals to try to gain some even footing against the tide of chain operators that had suddenly overwhelmed the city's culinary landscape. When Kinkead read an article about the Tucson Originals in Restaurant Business Magazine, he urged Phillip Cook, whose company managed many of the leading associations in the food service and hospitality industry, if he would contact Luria to test the waters for a merger of the two groups.

After several meetings, the Tucson Originals became CIRA's first chapter with the understanding that any future chapters to join would be mandated to incorporate "Originals" in their name. There are currently chapters in seventeen cities; Albuquerque, Birmingham, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Sarasota, Tucson, Twin Cities, Washington DC and Mt. Washington Valley, NH and over 100 restaurants not affiliated with any particular chapter.

Following Hurricane Katrina, CIRA established CIRAJobs.com to help displaced Gulf Coast restaurant workers find jobs in other parts of the country.

For more CIRA information, go to: www.dineoriginals.com.

About CAP Creative
CAP Creative is a part of Acrobatix Worldwide—-a company born in 1998 when owner and president, Roxanne Joffe, realized the need for a full service Advertising and Public Relations firm in Manchester, VT. Notable clients include the State of Vermont, Travel & Tourist industry clients, Sarasota-Manatee Originals, Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota, HealthTrust LLC, Carlson Studio Architecture, mail order company Vermont Country Store, Sarasota Museum of Art and other business & professional services clients.

The agency has picked up numerous advertising industry awards for excellence, including 16 ADDY Awards and two Best of Shows in 2005.

CAP Creative is a positive and proactive member of the local, regional and state community and contributes to the promotional and educational efforts of Casting for Recovery, a national non-profit support program for women who have or have had breast cancer. Visit www.capcreative.com for a virtual tour.






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