Maria Benvenuti: Helping Businesses Stay Afloat (and Well Fed) For 25 Years

    April 01, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Maria Benvenuti: Helping Businesses Stay Afloat (and Well Fed) For 25 Years

Now celebrating the 25th anniversary of her namesake company, Benvenuti Public Relations, Maria Benvenuti boasts a storied career that has largely changed the dynamic of New York's restaurant and hospitality industries. As one of New York's first restaurant publicists, her work has affected the way most food-going New Yorkers live--and how those within the industry survive--today, but her story has scarcely been told.

Embarking upon her role as a young publicist nearly three decades ago, she was a major player in revolutionizing the expansion of New York's culinary scene to once-remote areas as Soho, the Meatpacking District, and the Lower East Side. Always ahead of the curve, Maria has recognized early talent and potential--as Mario Batali's first publicist, she helped him overcome the hurdles of an unreceptive American palette and head towards his mega-successful career. In the years since, she has worked with an array of equally influential and talented chefs such as Rick Moonen, Christopher Lee, Masaharu Morimoto, and Nobu, often launching them into the celebrity personalities that charm foodies across America. As was the case with several of these talented chefs, Maria Benvenuti has dedicated much of her time and efforts to spotting the lesser-known talents and building up their national reputations.

But Maria's career has certainly not been limited to the restaurant industry. Working with hotels as well reputed at the Washington Square or the Pelican, luxury goods like Maura Starr and Mark Wilkinson Furniture, and nationally recognized health personalities such as Harry Hansen, Maria's portfolio explains why she has so much knowledge to share--and such a position of reliability across all media niches.

Finally reaching 25 years of accomplishment with Benvenuti Public Relations, Maria is quick to admit that it hasn't been a perfectly sweet ride, however. Establishing herself as a woman business-owner in the 80's was one hurdle to overcome--especially in an industry so dominated by men. Making it through 9/11 and the current depression have been challenges that Ms. Benvenuti has faced along with the rest of New York, but it is in these times that Maria is most fueled to work her hardest, as it is now that her clients need her most.

"During a recession," Maria says, "people need to push an extra 150% to stay afloat. For us, that means going beyond the extra mile. For restaurants, hotels, and those within the lifestyle industry, this means staying in the public eye and keeping people interested despite narrowing wallets." Indeed, it seems, Maria's work fulfills the needs of these business owners, and her results speak to the efficiency of public relations in a time of economic hardship.

For more information, find Maria and Benvenuti Public Relations on the web at www.benvenutipr.com. For press inquiries, please contact Nikki Goldstein at (212) 696-9883, or at [email protected]

About Benvenuti Public Relations

Benvenuti Public Relations is a full service public relations and marketing company based in New York, New York. For more information please contact us at 212-696-9883.

Press Contact:
Maria Benvenuti, Telma Benvenuti
& Nikki Goldstein
Benvenuti Public Relations
212-696-9883
[email protected]

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