On Nov. 30, the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) held its annual Georgia Restaurant Association Crystal of Excellence (GRACE) Awards Gala at the Georgia Aquarium. The event honors those who have made outstanding contributions to Georgia’s restaurant industry and saw winners in the following categories:
(Left to right) Restaurateur of the year Jamie Keating, Restaurant Rookie of the Year Preston Snyder and Hospitality Hero of the Year Brian and Paige Olson.Restaurateur of the Year
EPIC Restaurant, Jamie + Melissa Keating
Restaurateur Rookie of the Year
MAD Hospitality, Preston Snyder
Industry Partner of the Year
United Distributing, Doug Hertz
Hospitality Hero of the Year
Café Intermezzo, Brian + Page Olson
Georgia on My Mind People’s Choice Awards
All awards were nominated and voted on by the Georgia restaurant community, including restaurant guests, employees, suppliers and vendors.
Favorite Neighborhood Hangout
Taqueria Tsunami, For U Concepts
Favorite Eatertainment
The Painted Pin + The Painted Duck, Painted Hospitality
Favorite Born and Raised Beverage
Monday Night Brewing
Uniquely Georgia
Local Three Kitchen & Bar, Unsukay
Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Employee, ProStart Student & ProStart Teacher of the Year
Restaurant Manager
Brian Steiper, BAR{n} Booze {n} Bites/DASH Hospitality Group
Restaurant Employee
Matt Bryan, Sweet Auburn Barbecue
ProStart Student
Haja Kabba, Benjamin Banneker High School
ProStart Teacher
Chef James Bryant, Berkmar High School
In addition to the award winners, the GRACE Awards honored Robby Kukler for the Lifetime Achievement Award and Karen Bremer for the Chairman’s Honor and celebrated the GRA Hall of Fame members: Tony Conway (founder and CEO of Legendary Events), Anna Hsu (founder of Hsu’s Restaurants) and Ray Shoenbaum (founder of Ray’s Restaurants). Read all about the GRACE Awards winners and recipients in the latest issue of Restaurant INFORMER here.
