Startup Junkie Consulting of Fayetteville will hold a G60 pitch contest for entrepreneurs during the third annual BITE NW Arkansas festival later this month in Bentonville.
BITE, a two-day food and drink shindig on June 22-23, is held in conjunction with the LPGA's $2 million NW Arkansas Championship golf tournament at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. Jeff Amerine, the founder of Startup Junkie, said the G60 pitch competition will be held at the newly opened 8th Street Market in Bentonville.
"We're going to have a food and beverage G60 that will be part of [BITE]," Amerine said. "We are going to focus it on food and beverage ideas, concepts and companies. It should be a lot of fun, and it is a great location at Brightwater."
The 8th Street Market, a 10-acre facility, is also home to the Brightwater, the culinary school of Northwest Arkansas Community College. Amerine said the 8th Street Market and Brightwater are part of the region's cultural charge and it is a perfect location for a similarly themed G60 pitch.
"It's part of an overall strategy to create a regional food and culinary culture in the area," Amerine said. "It is doing some amazing things for local quality of life and also as it relates to food and beverage innovation. That whole Brightwater and 8th Street Market is going to be not just a cool destination but a regional and national destination. It's an incredible asset to Crystal Bridges and all the other things that are happening in NWA."