Atlanta (and Georgia) restaurants shut out of 2025 James Beard Awards
The James Beard Foundation held its annual chef and restaurant awards in Chicago on Monday, June 16, an awards ceremony referred to as the “Oscars of the food world.”
Sadly, it was another shutout for Atlanta (and Georgia) this year, with only Aria representing the entire state. Aria was up for a medal in the Outstanding Hospitality category. The James Beard Award went to Atomix in New York City.
Aria founder Chef Gerry Klaskala officially retired from the restaurant industry over the weekend. Klaskala announced his retirement in April, handing ownership to longtime general manager Andrés Loaiza and the kitchen to the restaurant’s new executive chef, Joseph Harrison. After leading his final dinner service at Aria on Saturday, Klaskala and Loaiza hopped on a plane to attend the James Beard Awards in Chicago.
But the 2025 James Beard nomination becomes a fitting tribute to Klaskala and his ardent commitment to hospitality at Aria, which has been a core tenet at the restaurant since it opened 25 years ago on East Paces Ferry Road. Part of what makes hospitality at Aria so special is the warm and personable service, including from Loaiza and Klaskala, who make the rounds nightly in the dining room greeting guests while checking on tables.
“I’m on the floor all the time, so I know everybody who comes through the door,” Loaiza told Rough Draft in April. “The floor is my second home. It’s my happy place. There’s nothing like that rush of energy of seeing people come in to dine or seeing our regulars every night.”
That high level of service and attention to detail will continue under the duo of Loiaza and Harrison.
“I’m building on a legacy started by Gerry, a legend of a chef in Atlanta,” Harrison said. “Andrés has been very enthusiastic in helping introduce me to tables and to begin building that same relationship with our guests. I want to carry that on. That’s part of moving Aria forward.”
Related stories:
• Chef Gerry Klaskala talks the future of Aria in Buckhead
• Meet Aria’s new executive chef, Joseph Harrison
The James Beard Foundation kicked off a three-day marathon of awards and culinary events on Saturday night with the media and book awards ceremony.
“The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar,” by Jim Meehan, Bart Sasso (Ticonderoga Club partner), and Emma Janzen, was awarded a medal for best Beverage with Recipes Book. Athens-based publication The Bitter Southerner won for best Food Coverage in a General Interest Publication.
Earlier this year, Chad Houser, the chef and founder behind the nonprofit-run restaurant Cafe Momentum, was named Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation. A third location of the restaurant opened this spring in downtown Atlanta.
Cafe Momentum helps teens who’ve been in juvenile detention build professional skills through training and mentorship in the hospitality industry. The restaurant has provided paid 12-month internships to more than 1,200 formerly incarcerated young people between the ages of 15 and 19 since Houser founded Cafe Momentum in Dallas a decade ago.
Houser accepted the Humanitarian of the Year award during the June 16 ceremony. Previous winners include The LEE initiative, the co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund, Chef José Andrés, and Atlanta-based Giving Kitchen.
Related stories:
• The 2024 Michelin Guide to Atlanta
• Chef Terry Koval opens Fawn wine and amaro bar
The James Beard Foundation announced the 2025 finalists for the chef and restaurant awards in April. Aria was one of 12 semifinalists from Atlanta and Georgia, which also included restaurants like Casa Balam and Lucian Books & Wine and chefs like Bruce Logue (BoccaLupo), Brian So (Spring), and Rod Lassiter and Parnass Savang (Talat Market).
Last year, Savang and Lassiter were the lone Georgia representatives at the 2024 James Beard Awards, nominated in the same category they were semifinalists for this year: Best Chef: Southeast. The 2024 Best Chef: Southeast award went to Paul Smith of 1010 Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia.
In 2023, The Deer and the Dove‘s Terry Koval won the James Beard award for Best Chef: Southeast. Later that year, The Deer and The Dove landed a spot as a recommended restaurant in the Michelin Guide to Atlanta. The restaurant maintained its status in the 2024 Atlanta dining guide.
Koval opened Fawn wine and amaro bar in March, just around the corner from The Deer and The Dove in downtown Decatur.
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