Overheard at the 2025 James Beard Awards

A version of this post originally appeared on June 18, 2025, in Eater and Punch’s newsletter Pre Shift, a biweekly newsletter for the industry pro that sources first-person accounts from the bar and restaurant world. Subscribe now for more stories like this. 

Along with the usual flood of tourists and locals enjoying the summer weather, downtown Chicago was packed this weekend due to both the “No Kings” march that brought tens of thousands of people to protest the Trump administration, and the parties and pop-ups tied to the 35th annual James Beard Awards.

The tension between resistance and revelry was felt throughout Monday’s celebration at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. Finalists shared their thoughts with Eater, discussing what the awards mean to them, ways the honors can continue to evolve, the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry, and the biggest challenges they face when it comes to making the best food— from housing, to staffing, to protecting their teams from ICE raids.

On the impact of the awards

“[After being nominated] we were busier right away. The response has been incredible. It’s such a good burst of business in January, at a time that’s classically slow, that we are mostly grateful for. It’s been amazing.” — Jeanie Janas Ritter, Bûcheron, Minneapolis (2025 winner, Best New Restaurant)

“We have so many people visiting Buffalo to just come hang out. Every Saturday, people fly in, eat barbecue, see [Niagara] Falls and fly back out. Our volume has increased probably like 45 times [since being nominated].” — Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction Barbecue, Buffalo, New York (2025 finalist, Best Chef: New York State and 2024 finalist, Best Emerging Chef)

On how the awards could evolve

“I love that the [James Beard Awards] expanded and added these new categories for beverages. I think that it’s so important to continue to see that the front of house and the back of house work together. Of course, the chef is the star of the show. People go to restaurants to eat, but you’ve got to have something to drink too. I think continuing to expand on the front-of-house recognition would be a great call.” — Cassandra Felix, Daniel, New York City (2025 finalist, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service)

“[I’d love to see an award that] celebrates general managers. I just hired Daniel Harrington and he has shifted the dynamic in such a beautiful way. I’m a very hands-on owner. I’m either there way too much or I’m traveling somewhere and he’s that anchor. He keeps me steady. He executes. No one really recognizes the GM. They make less money than everyone else and typically work way more hours, much like chefs. I think GMs could use a little bit of love.” — Julia Momosé, Kumiko, Chicago (2025 winner, Outstanding Bar)

“I love beverages and I’m a horrible cook. Like, I can’t cook for shit. I would love to see a little bit more separation of spirits, nonalcoholic, beers, and wine [categories] so there’s more representation of beverages just like we do the chefs.” — Felipe Riccio, March, Houston (2025 finalist, Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program)

“I wonder if coffee [could] be an additional [James Beard] category. Coming from Portland, we have so much coffee, and Chicago does, too.” — Tommy Klus, Scotch Lodge, Portland, Oregon (2025 finalist, Outstanding Bar)

On staffing challenges

“We live on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, so every single thing makes it a little harder. Employee housing is really, really tough for where we are. It’s kind of become an affluent area, and so finding places reasonably priced for our talented team to live is difficult.” — Jay Blackinton, Houlme, Orcas Island, Washington (2025 finalist, Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific)

“Where we are in the world, which is a pretty small community with 50,000 to 100,000 people, it’s very difficult to retain really strong talent. That’s always been the focus of our restaurant, to do exactly that, to retain and keep our people as long as possible. At first, our mission statement was to create well-paying, long-term hospitality jobs. After 2020, that has shifted to retaining [them]. We do care about quality of life with the way we operate the restaurants, with the way that the kitchens operate. We just try to make as pleasant an environment as possible.” — Josh Niernberg, Bin 707, Grand Junction, Colorado (2025 finalist, Outstanding Chef)

“Post-pandemic, a lot of people left the industry just because they got so stressed out during that crazy time. Finding good people [is my biggest challenge, but] there’s a lot of young folks that are coming up in the ranks that show a lot of initiative, so we’re hopeful on that.” — Daniel Castillo, Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano, California (2025 finalist, Best Chef: California)

“The big challenge that my restaurant is facing right now is staying motivated as we continue this absolute roller-coaster ride. It’s a good roller coaster, but keeping people focused is really hard. Keeping myself focused is really hard. The intellectual focus it requires to be a restaurant of our type is not something you wake up out of bed and have, so I think that’s the hard part. We’re supposed to be having more fun.” — Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago (2025 finalist, Best Chef: Great Lakes)

On the state of the world

“We’re in Downtown LA and our restaurant has been completely surrounded with the protest — the peaceful protest — so it’s been a little bit challenging for the last two weeks. We can’t wait to get back open and welcome everyone in our community back to celebrate Los Angeles in general and hopefully a win for me at the James Beard Awards.” — Tobin Shea, Redbird, Los Angeles (2025 finalist, Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service)

“The general public is really strained at this point. That affects small businesses, especially the restaurant businesses with such tight margins. The geopolitical climate, the state of the world, the unrest, I think is exponential right now in terms of its impact across the globe. It’s making everybody a little scared and I think that affects the way they spend their day, as it should. I think potentially [people are] afraid to spend because of all the uncertainty.” — Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence, Rhode Island (2025 finalist, Best Chef: Northeast)

“[The biggest challenge facing us] is the current state of the state, for sure. Immigration, keeping the team alive and safe. [The award nomination] definitely gives us a platform to talk about uncomfortable subjects. It definitely gives us the courage to keep going.” — Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston (2025 finalist, Best Chef: Texas)

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.