Exhibit Builders for the National Restaurant Association Show 2027

Why an NRA Show booth is harder to build than most

At most trade shows, a booth has to look good and hold a conversation. At the Restaurant Show, it usually has to feed people too. Operators, chefs and distributors want to taste the product, see the equipment run and then talk numbers. One booth often does all three jobs at once.

That changes the brief your builder works from:

• The layout starts with utilities, not graphics. Where power, water and drains reach your space decides where the demo counter goes. Everything else is arranged around it.
• Sampling needs its own flow. A tasting line that blocks your meeting area costs you the conversations you came for. Good layouts keep the queue on one side and seating or a closing table on the other.
• Food booths take more paperwork. Sampling needs show approval, food and ice come through OVG Hospitality, and cooking falls under McCormick Place's own facility rules. A builder who hasn't done a food show may not plan for any of it.
• The crowd is big and moves fast. In 2026, more than 55,000 people attended and the show filled about 720,000 sq ft. With that much to see, most visitors decide quickly which booths to stop at. A clear product and a visible demo do more than a large logo.

Pick a builder who has built working food booths before, not just a builder who has worked in Chicago. Ask for photos of a booth with a live demo or sampling station.

National Restaurant Show 2027 Dates, Hours and Halls

The 2027 show runs May 22–25, 2027 at McCormick Place. The official 2027 floor plan shows three exhibit areas: the North Building (Hall N), the South Building (Hall S) and Level 3 of the Lakeside Center (Hall E). Pavilions are placed by product type. As of October 2026, the floor plan shows the Beverage Room in the Lakeside Center Ballroom, Organic & Natural in the South Hall, and the TECH Pavilion and A Taste of the States in the North Hall.

The 2027 exhibit halls are open 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. from Saturday, May 22 to Monday, May 24, and 9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25 (exhibitor FAQs). Move-in and move-out run on their own schedule, published in the exhibitor kit.

Your hall matters to your builder. The show lists separate catering contacts for each building, and its booth rules carry their own restrictions for North Hall B2 and the Lakeside Ballroom. Send your booth number to your builder as soon as you have it.

Check the 2027 move-in and move-out times on the show's general information page and in the Freeman exhibitor kit. Confirm your slot before your builder books crews and freight.

Exhibiting at other Chicago shows too? See booth builders in Chicago and the full list of McCormick Place events in 2027.

NRA Show 2027 Exhibitor Timeline, Worked Back from May 22

The show's deadlines fall well before move-in. Most 2027 dates haven't been published yet, so the timeline below uses the 2026 cycle as a planning guide. The status column shows which dates are confirmed. Official 2027 dates will appear in your exhibitor dashboard.

If you're starting later than this, it can still work with a rental or a reused structure. A full custom build started in March leaves very little room for revisions.

National Restaurant Association Show Sampling and Cooking Rules

If food or drink leaves your booth in someone's hand, the show needs to know. The timeline above covers when to file. This section covers what the rules mean for your booth. Check each point against the official documents for the 2027 cycle.

• Sampling form. Anyone sampling food or beverage on the floor must file the Food & Beverage Sampling Form through the exhibitor dashboard. See the show's sampling information.
• Alcohol and hemp drinks. These need a separate application, and show management must approve it before you order anything.
• OVG Hospitality is exclusive. Food, beverage, ice, kitchen space and catering at the venue go through OVG. If you serve product that isn't your own, you order it through OVG too.
• Cooking follows McCormick Place's rules. The venue's facility regulations cover cooking along with fire and safety. They're linked on the show's regulations and guidelines page. Give your builder the equipment list early so the design meets them.
• Allergen signage. The show provides a food allergen sign and a public health sampling guide for exhibitors.
• Dishwashing is shared. Booth space includes access to the show's sanitary dishwashing facilities. You don't have to build that into your booth.

What this means for the design: a sampling booth needs storage for stock and waste, a counter at a working height, and a clear spot for the allergen sign. Ask your builder where each will go before you approve the render, not after.

NRA Show Booth Cost: What You Pay and Who Bills It

A Restaurant Show budget comes from three different bills. Builders often quote only the third, so comparing quotes without the other two gives you the wrong total.

Badges are included with space: five for the first 100 sq ft and three for each extra 100 sq ft.

What booth space costs in 2027

The show publishes its 2027 space rates: $49 per sq ft for booths of 799 sq ft or less, and $48 per sq ft for booths of 800 sq ft or more. Each exposed corner adds $375 (exhibitor page).

These figures cover exhibit space only. They don't include corner fees, the booth structure, graphics, installation, freight, utilities or other show services. A 20 × 20 island with four exposed corners, for example, comes to $21,100 for space before anything is built. Payment terms change during the cycle: 50% is due at booking until February 1, then 100% is due at booking. Confirm charges with show management before you book.

What changes the rest of the budget

There's no single price for a finished food booth. Size, equipment and build type vary too much for one range to be honest. What moves the total:

• Booth size and type. An island has four open sides to build and light. An inline booth has one.
• Equipment and utilities. Cooking or sampling adds plumbing, extra electrical, storage and staff time.
• Build or rent. A custom build costs more up front but can be reused. A rental costs less once but is paid again each show.
• Timing. Show services ordered after the discount deadline cost more.

Start from the space cost above, then add two or three builder quotes for the same brief and your show-service orders.

If you're weighing a full custom structure, see how custom trade show booths are usually priced and built.

NRA Show Booth Setup at McCormick Place: What Your Own Team Can Do

Chicago has strict union rules, but your own team can do more than many exhibitors expect. McCormick Place's Exhibitor Bill of Rights lets an exhibitor's full-time employees set up and dismantle their own booth, with some conditions. The version we checked is dated April 2024. It sets a minimum length of employment, lets the venue ask for proof of employment, and bars exhibitor staff from forklifts, lifts and scaffolding.

Read the current version before you plan to self-install. It's linked from the show's regulations and guidelines page as "McCormick Place Exhibitor Rights." For anything beyond a small inline booth, it usually makes sense to hire your builder's installation crew and keep your staff on product and booth training.

NRA Show Booth Design: Custom Build or Booth Rental

The right choice depends on how often you exhibit and how much of your booth is equipment.

More on how trade show booth rental works and what's included.

Booth ideas that work at a food show

• Put the demo at the front edge. Heat, steam and movement pull people in. A demo hidden at the back of an island gets missed.
• Show the menu use, not just the product. Operators want to see how an item fits on a menu or a line. A plated dish or a short menu card does this better than a product shot.
• Think about reuse. The show runs a Sustainable Booth Program (Better Stands) that recognizes booths built to be reused rather than thrown away.

NRA Show Floor Plan and Exhibitor List

The official 2027 floor plan is live for booth sales. As of October 2026, it shows halls, pavilions and open space. The exhibitor list fills in as companies book, so it will be more complete closer to May.

Once you have a booth number, use the plan to brief your builder on three things:

• Open sides. Which sides face main aisles decides where the demo counter and the main graphics go.
• Neighbors. A large island with a loud demo next door is a reason to put your meeting area on the far side.
• Pavilion rules. If you're in a pavilion such as Organic & Natural or the TECH Pavilion, check whether it has its own booth requirements.

First-time exhibitors made up 650 of the roughly 2,300 companies in 2026. If that's you, the show's booth essentials page explains what comes with your space.

Questions to Ask NRA Show Booth Builders Before You Sign

Send the same questions to every builder you're comparing. The answers tell you more than the renders do.

1. Have you built a booth with live cooking or sampling at McCormick Place? Ask for photos and the show name.
2. What's in your quote, and what isn't? Freight, installation labor, graphics, storage and on-site supervision should each be a clear yes or no.
3. Who files the show service orders? Electrical, plumbing and rigging orders cost less before the discount deadline. Find out whether the builder files them or you do.
4. Will we see a floor-level layout before the render? A plan showing where each piece of equipment and each utility connection sits is the quickest way to tell whether the builder has designed around how your booth works.
5. What happens if something breaks during move-in? Ask who is on site, and whether they carry spare parts and graphics.
6. Can we reuse this booth? If you'll exhibit again, ask how the structure is stored, what storage costs, and how it adapts to a smaller space.

Get your NRA Show 2027 booth quotes before the spring deadlines

Tell us your booth size, what you're cooking or sampling, and your budget. Builders who know McCormick Place will send quotes you can compare.

Compare NRA Show exhibit builders

Planning more of the year? See our guide to food and beverage trade shows in 2027.