The James Beard Foundation has released the list of nominees who may taste glory at its 2017 Restaurant Design Awards on 25 April.
The organisation – which celebrates America's culinary heritage – will hand out awards in three categories: restaurants with 75 seats and under, those with 76 seats and over, and an honourary Design Icon Award – which will be presented to The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant in New York, located under the chambers of Grand Central Station designed by architect Rafael Guastavino Moreno.
The nominees are:
75 Seats and Under SingleThread, Healdsburg, California
Firm: AvroKO
Designers: Kristina O’Neal, William Harris, Adam Farmerie, Greg Bradshaw
Kismet, Los Angeles
Firm: Guga
Designer: Jeff Guga
Leo’s Oyster Bar, San Francisco
Firm: Ken Fulk Inc.
Designers: Tiffany Kramer and Jon de la Cruz
76 Seats and Over Momotaro, Chicago
Firm: AvroKO
Designers: Kristina O’Neal, Adam Farmerie, Greg Bradshaw, William Harris
Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant, Los Angeles
Firm: Home Studios
Designers: Evan and Oliver Haslegrave
St. Cecilia, Atlanta
Firm: Meyer Davis
Designers: Will Meyer, Gray Davis, Katie McPherson
Design Icon The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant, New York
The judges were seeking “beautiful, functional designs that seamlessly meld the setting and theme of the restaurant environment.” Entries had to be located in North America and open since January 2014.
Commenting on the shortlist, architect James Biber, the jury chair, told
CLAD: “This year’s entries mark a new record both for quantity and quality, making the jury’s final selection even more difficult than in previous years.
“The wide range of spectacular design work, at all levels of cost and size, reflect the public demand for better environments no matter what the type of restaurant.
“Especially interesting are not just the latest design trends but the scale of innovation in all things food-related,” he added. “Congratulations to the nominees and to all who submitted; you are all shaping a rapidly evolving restaurant design landscape.”
The winners of the 2016 award were design studios Renzo Piano Building Workshop (for the Untitled restaurant at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York), Demian Repucci Design (for New York’s Bruno) and Land and Sea Dept (for Cherry Circle Room in Chicago).
The icon award was won by The Four Seasons restaurant in New York, which will soon move to a new home created by Brazilian designer Isay Weinfeld.
