The LA Taco and Beer Festival advertised the event as unlimited taco and beer samples, but many who attended say the vendors ran out within an hour. Gene Kang reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, 2019.
What to Know
- LA Taco and Beer Festival took place Saturday night.
- Some say they only got two sample sized tacos and a couple ounces of beer after waiting in lines for hours.
- Some took to the event's Facebook page and website to complain.
A foodie event in downtown Los Angeles was catching a lot of flak online after some people who attended the event were promised unlimited tacos and beer, and ended up waiting hours for two sample-sized tacos and 3 ounces of ale.
Manny Feeney said he left a one-star review on Yelp for the LA Taco and Beer Festival this past weekend — he's not alone.
The LA Taco and Beer Festival website and Facebook page advertised the event as unlimited free tastings of tacos and beers from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday night.
But Feeney says he and his wife waited in multiple long lines and got only two sample-sized tacos and 3 ounces of beer.
"We just paid $40 for the ticket. Why would we pay for the tacos? It said unlimited. We felt it was false advertising," he said.
People posted pictures of multiple signs saying the vendors were out of samples and tastings.
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"This doesn't make sense. It's supposed to be unlimited. How are they out of samples within an hour?" Feeney said.
Dozens of festival goers demanded refunds on the Facebook page and website after leaving the event at Los Angeles Center Studios.
Others were calling it a "scam."
At a Bay Area taco festival in San Francisco, SF Gate reported the same problems.
Daredevil Events — believed to be operated by Brandon Mozley out of Southern California — have another event planned in Bakersfield.
Some people did, in fact, get their refunds through Eventbrite.
Feeney says it's left a bad taste in his mouth.
"It's wrong. People should know they're doing this," Feeney said.
NBCLA reached out to Eventbrite but have not received a response.
Brandon Mozley of Daredevil Events responded after the story aired with the following statement: "As for refunds, our ticketing page clearly outlines that we are not issuing refunds as it states that all sales are final and no refunds will be issued. However, we are working with everyone that emails us to give them discount codes for 50% off of next year's event ticket as a courtesy for any bad experiences they had at the event. We are gathering all the feedback from guests and will work out the kinks and implement new strategies for next year's event to make it bigger, better, and amazing!"
