Public Relations NOLA Firm Profile
Established in 1985, Brustman Carrino Public Relations (BCPR) specializes in high profile culinary and hospitality campaigns; creating innovative publicity, marketing and special event programs for over 30 years. BCPR believes there is an art to creating strategic publicity campaigns; with a strong network of local, national and international media contacts, blending an expertise in story development, image building, and special events marketing with an eye to creating a buzz among media and driving business from both locals and visitors. The firm also represents its clients in the marketing realm, often securing prestigious local and national product ambassadorships and awards, a key element to branding chefs, restaurants and hotels, in the evolving culinary and hospitality marketplace. We bring to our clients more than three decades of experience, the respect of our community and a strong network of media contacts and valuable corporate relationships. This is the firm that represented The Strand; South Beach’s first see-and-be-seen restaurant and many of the restaurants, hotels and events that helped define the emerging destination. The firm brought the Delano, Raleigh, The Hotel, Park Central and Marlin hotels into the global media spotlight, launched Mandarin Oriental, Miami and introduced Ocean Drive magazine and Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink to the world at large. One of the first PR firms in the U.S. to specialize in culinary public relations, BCPR has generated numerous national restaurant features and booked clients on notable local and national television shows including the Today Show, CBS Early Show, Food Network’s Iron Chef America, Bravo’s Top Chef and The Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods America, among many others. In 2013, BCPR launched a division in New Orleans. A consummate “foodie” town, the firm is extremely proud to be associated with such a gastronomic jewel. Among other Crescent City gems, we’ve worked with the one and only Emeril Lagasse and currently represent the talented chef Nina Compton and her restaurant Compère Lapin in the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery. Compton was cited by Food and Wine magazine as one of the best new chefs in the U.S. The firm proudly represented all six of South Florida’s James Beard Award recipients during their historic careers. Currently, its esteemed clients range from Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Turnberry Isle, The Dutch Miami, Meat Market, and Beaker & Gray to the Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival and Grove Bay Hospitality Group. As Goldman Properties’ agency of record for more than two decades, the firm launched the iconic Wynwood Walls and was instrumental in branding the evolving Wynwood neighborhood as South Florida’s hip emerging arts district. The BCPR database encompasses thousands of VIPs, ensuring each client has the right mix of locals and visitors for their events. During its 30-year history, the firm helped create some of the most memorable South Florida events of the era, with celebrities and culinary luminaries including Julia Child, Jean Claude Troisgros, Maguy and Gilbert LeCoze, Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain, Todd Oldham, Hugh Hefner, Quentin Tarantino, Calvin Klein, Madonna, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Greg Allman, Steven Tyler, and Ben Affleck. With the firm for over 20 years, President Larry Carrino oversees publicity, special event and marketing campaigns for the firm’s roster of top restaurant, hospitality, event, arts and entertainment accounts. He is well-known for his superlative work as publicist for nationally esteemed celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein and spearheads regional PR efforts for the famed Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
The current PR chair for Slow Food Miami, he sat on the board of the Miami Light Project and is former chairman of the South Florida chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food. In 2009 he was selected as one of the top "40 under 40" professionals by Gold Coast magazine; in 2013 he was named one of the Top 30 Tastemakers by Miami New Times, and in 2015, Carrino was named one of Miami’s Ultimate CEO’s by the South Florida Business Journal. The founder of the firm in 1985, Susan Brustman, is a former New Yorker with more than 20 years of newsroom experience and media contacts. A seasoned journalist, she helped establish the Los Angeles Free Press and was affiliated with New York magazine. Prior to launching the firm, Brustman honed her promotional skills at Miami’s legendary Hank Meyer Associates. Vice President of Accounts Karen Barofsky, a graduate of New York University, has been the firm’s arts, hospitality and events specialist for over two decades. She has represented some of BCPR’s most prestigious clients and currently oversees many of the firm’s major restaurant and hospitality-oriented clients, including ETARU, BLT Prime and the F&B outlets at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and Turnberry Isle. Lauren Busch, Vice President of Operations, brings close to 20-years’ worth of experience, enthusiasm, and expertise to the table, creating fine-tuned local to national publicity campaigns, Grand Opening programs and innovative food and wine events for top tier clients in South Florida as well as spearheading the New Orleans division. A graduate of Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she produced an award-winning children’s album to generate postKatrina awareness and raise funds for New Orleans. Currently she serves on the board of the National Food and Beverage Foundation (NatFAB); is a founding member of Les Dames D’Escoffier New Orleans; a Tulane alumni interviewer, and works closely with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. Marel Holler Hinners is a Senior Account Executive with over five years of luxury fashion and lifestyle public relations experience. In addition to her PR acumen, she brings to the team her expertise as an event coordinator which includes eleven seasons with NYC’s infamous Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Be it press or events, her primary focus is always on enhancing her clients’ brands. Account Executive Andrea Moreno started her career with BCPR providing assistance on the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) and, upon her graduation from Florida International University with a Masters in Hospitality and Tourism Management, joined the firm full time. In addition to handling account duties for various clients, Andrea fills an important role working with Spanish language media. Account Executive Gita Shonek boasts close to twenty years of experience in marketing, programming and promotion having held positions with the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum, Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood, Miami Book Fair International, and most recently the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. Gita, who holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the Miami International University of Art and Design, brings creativity and passion to all that she does. Anabel Mendez is an Account Executive with many years of experience and expertise in public affairs, campaign strategy and community outreach. A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Public Relations, Anabel also spearheaded the public relations campaign for UF’s Office of Sustainability. A native New Yorker, Devin Smith attended Florida International University and received a degree in Digital Media Marketing with magma cum laude honors. With prior experience in the hospitality sector in both agency and in-house PR, she has worked alongside award-winning hotel and restaurant clientele. She joins BCPR as Social Media Director and Account Coordinator.
Sarah Thaler joins the BCPR team as an Account Coordinator with ample experience in editorial writing, brand strategy and media relations. A graduate of the S.I Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Sarah earned her Bachelor degree in Television, Radio, and Film with a minor in Food Studies. Prior to joining BCPR, she worked at Schwartz Media Strategies, where she learned the ins-and-outs of public relations in the business sector. She served as Director of Programming at the Miami Short Film Festival in 2015 and has published stories in the Miami New Times and Latina Magazine. Rounding out the team is Mariana Michelsen who joins BCPR as an Account Executive with experience in hospitality, travel and lifestyle public relations. She has worked with an array of local, national and international brands playing an integral part in their launches, strategy and ongoing press efforts. Mariana graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in public relations. For further information or to schedule an appointment, please call (305) 573-0658. BCPR REPRESENTATIVE CLIENT LIST ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & EVENTS Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival GMCVB Miami Spice Restaurant Promotion Louisiana Restaurant Association - We Live to Eat NOLA Restaurant Week Taste of the Nation South Florida/Great American Bake Sale, Miami James Beard Foundation’s Taste America March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction Miami Wine & Food Festival/Veritage Miami (United Way) The launch of Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Miami Light Project Wynwood Walls Slow Food Miami Cochon 555, Miami Beach The Roots of Music, New Orleans Southern Food & Beverage Museum (SoFAB), New Orleans TOP TACO, New Orleans New Orleans Bourbon Festival HOSPITALITY/TOURISM Onboard Media Launch of The Beach Channel Boutique Hotels Program/Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau Turnberry Isle Miami The Hotel, Miami Beach The Betsy, Miami Beach (including BLT Steak) Casa Morada, Islamorada Delano, Miami Beach (‘96-’98) The Raleigh Hotel Marlin Hotel Goldman Properties RESTAURANTS/CULINARY/PRODUCTS Emeril’s, NOLA Restaurant and Emeril’s Delmonico, New Orleans Chef Nina Compton – Compère Lapin and Bywater American Bistro, New Orleans Chef Michelle Bernstein – Azul, Crumb on Parchment, Cena by Michy Chef Clay Conley – Buccan, Imoto, (Palm Beach); Grato, West Palm Beach Fontainebleau Miami Beach – all F&B Outlets KURO at Seminole Hard Rock & Casino, Hollywood, FL Bourbon Steak, Miami
RESTAURANTS/CULINARY/PRODUCTS (continued) ETARU, Hallandale Beach & Las Olas Stiltsville Fish Bar, Miami Beach Stubborn Seed, Miami Beach The Dutch at W South Beach Corsair Kitchen + Bar, Miami Quality Meats Miami Beach Macchialina, Miami Beach Meat Market, Miami Beach & Palm Beach Beaker & Gray, Wynwood Mason Eatery, Midtown American Harvest, Brickell City Centre & South Miami Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill Miami, Brickell City Centre Dolce Italian by LDV Hospitality, Miami Beach Lure Fishbar at Loews Miami Beach Lightkeepers at The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne Grown, South Miami Devon Seafood + Steak, Kendall location BLT Prime, Doral Salsa Fiesta – Miami, Pembroke Pines, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Lakes Edge, Steak & Bar at Four Seasons Hotel, Miami Rusty Pelican, Key Biscayne Earls Kitchen + Bar, Dadeland & Orlando Glass & Vine, Coconut Grove Pincho Factory – Florida locations The Halal Guys, Davie, FL Oceans234, Deerfield Beach 3030 Ocean Harbor Beach Marriott, Fort Lauderdale Riverside Hotel – F&B outlets, Fort Lauderdale Burlock Coast at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale DTB, New Orleans Tujague’s, New Orleans Toup’s Meatery and Toups South, New Orleans Sac-a-Lait, New Orleans Freddo Helado USA Whole Foods Market, State of Florida Blue Star Foods (crab meat) Casa Dragones Tequila DelGrosso Foods -- La Famiglia DelGrosso
Website: www.brustmancarrinopr.com Email: bcpr@brustmancarrinopr.com FaceBook: BrustmanCarrinoPR Instagram: @bcprsocial Twitter: @bcprsocial