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CHICAGO, February 18, 2026 - It all started with a “Mad Men”-era advertising war.
The restaurant business was booming back in the mid-1960s as chains, still a new phenomenon, figured out how to offer meals at prices that a burgeoning middle class could routinely afford. No longer was dining-out a treat reserved for special occasions at fancy white-tablecloth places.
The explosive growth fostered an echo-boom in business publications covering the surging market. Among the upstarts was a trade journal focused on the soda fountains big retailer chains were installing in their stores to capitalize on the dining-out boom.
It would quickly evolve into Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN), and it hit on an effective way to pull advertising business away from the more-established publications covering the field. The publication convened an event where suppliers could meet face-to-face with the leaders of the chains that were cropping up almost too fast to be counted. It was marketed to vendors as the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel, since they could meet key prospects one-on-one and all at once.
The catch: The suppliers had to buy a certain number of pages in NRN if they wanted to attend the event, which was given the less-than-elegant name of the Multi-Unit Food Service Operators show, or MUFSO.
The leverage worked. Feeling the loss of ad dollars, the publishers of established publications like Fast Food (now Restaurant Business), Institutions (ultimately renamed Restaurants & Institutions), and Restaurant Hospitality (now a part of NRN) convened a get-together in Chicago to brainstorm a mutual defense.
They were joined by representatives of a leading industry trade group, International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, the precursor of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association.
The idea cooked up by the participants was a meeting to out-do MUFSO. They would invite chain decision-makers to a multi-day event held in cities that attendees might want to visit with their families pre- or post-show. The get-togethers would feature research presentations, downloads on industry trends, a dash of entertainment, presentations from world-class thought leaders, and extensive opportunities for attendees to network for their mutual business gain.
Coining the right name for the annual event was crucial, recalled Jeffrey Berlind, who represented the precursor of Restaurant Business at the sit-down with his competitors. He recalled that the winning suggestion came from David “Chip” Wexler, a longtime leader of Institutions and its later iteration. He suggested the Chain Operators Exchange, or COEX.
The event was intended to be a benefit to all of the NRN competitors represented. For that reason, no single title could own or run it. IFMA was the obvious party to take it on, with the decision-making shared among an advisory council of operators and manufacturers.
Manufacturers did not need to buy ad pages to attend, affording them a chance to meet and court operators without a steep ante.
MUFSO would eventually give way to a new conference called CREATE, but COEX kept going, though the event would change considerably as the market evolved over the next six decades.
For much of that stretch, it would be held every winter at a hotel in Orlando, offering northern attendance targets an escape from winter weather. It was routine for attendees to add on time for their families to join them for a vacation.
Notable world leaders and statesmen who have addressed IFMA audiences over the years, including President George H.W. Bush, General Colin Powell, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Mikhail Gorbachev, and Prime Minister John Major.
A signature of the event was a keynote address from a globally known figure. The speakers included such luminaries as Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, Gen. Colin Powell, Herman Cain, John Major, and George H.W. Bush with wife Barbara.
As the restaurant industry grew more sophisticated and complex, more attention was paid to hardcore business issues, with key figures from the industry sharing their insights on issues and opportunities.
The location was rotated so that attendees could also take in restaurant-rich markets other than Orlando, such as this year’s location, Atlanta.
As is the case with COEX 2026, the scope of attendance has been expanded. All types of food-away-from-home outlets are invited along with chains, with the operator base now including onsite foodservice directors, c-store executives, and supermarket decision-makers involved with their chain’s prepared-foods departments.
Research is still presented; this year’s offerings will include consumer data from Datassential, Technomic, Boston Consulting Group, and MasterCard, among others.
Panels will focus on such issues as how to improve relations between operator, manufacturer, and distributor for the benefit of all, and how the Make America Healthy Again movement is likely to affect menus and marketing.
More information about COEX 2026 is available here.
Want a preview of the cutting-edge concepts being tested in COEX’s host city of Atlanta, from Chick-fil-A's new drink venture to Shake Shack’s latest? Here’s a rundown.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.