James Beard Award winner, Forbes 30 under 30 and Celebrity chef JJ Johnson reentered the Harlem market with his new rice bowl-focused concept FIELDTRIP in the summer of 2019. ValincPR was engaged to activate the community around the brand. Strategy Included:

Inviting the community — Produced several events in-house designed to target the local community and introduce or endear them to the brand.

Media Relations — Expanded on his national coverage and also strategically incorporated local and hyper-local media to further establish as a community business.

Shortly after securing coveted reviews in the New York Times and Eater, and gaining good traction in the community as a go-to spot, COVID -19 hit and changed the landscape of hospitality drastically. FIELDTRIP was faced with the challenge of staying open to save the restaurant and jobs as highligthed in Esquire. Since then, ValincPR has been working with Chef JJ and FIELDTRIP to help identify a path forward to shape his story.

To date, Chef JJ has emerged as a community and industry leader in pivoting his restaurant into an opportunity to serve key groups in the community, including being among the first restaurants to deliver meals to healthcare workers and children and families in need. He has received donations from across the country to help in his efforts and is winning the support and respect of his peers.

Most recently, Food & Wine, Eater, Wendy Williams, and Time Out announced the two new FIELDTRIP locations in Rockefeller Center and in the Jacx Office Complex in Long Island City, Queens.