Food News
Providence’s Loma, Portland restaurateur Dana Street, and Dover chef Evan Hennessey earned top honors at the restaurant industry’s biggest awards night.
Providence, RI. 07/09/24 – Champagne-style cocktail with red beet sugar cube, amaro sweet vermouth, and sparkling wine at LOMA, a Latin-American influenced bar and lounge close to Depasquale Plaza off Atwells Avenue in Providence. (Lane Turner/Globe Staff) Reporter: (Alexa Gagosz) Topic: (18fcLOMAbar). Lane Turner/Globe Staff
New England scored three major wins at the restaurant industry’s biggest night Monday, with honorees from Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire earning coveted James Beard Awards in Chicago.
Among the regional winners was Providence cocktail bar Loma, which took home the award for Best New Bar less than two years after opening its doors in the Federal Hill neighborhood.
In a post on Instagram, the bar’s team reflected on the recognition and the risks involved in building the business.
“We come from immigrant and working class families and were raised by people who taught us the value of hard work, but also understood how dangerous it can feel to take a chance on yourself when failure isn’t just disappointing,” the post said.
In Maine, Portland restaurateur Dana Street won the Outstanding Restaurateur award. Street oversees several well-known establishments, including Street and Co., Standard Baking Co., Fore Street, and Scales.
The Best Chef: Northeast award went to Evan Hennessey, chef-owner of Stages in Dover, New Hampshire.
After the ceremony, Hennessey celebrated the achievement on Instagram, describing it as the culmination of years of effort and persistence.
“This isn’t just something that happened overnight,” Hennessey wrote. “This is years and years of choices, trying, crying, believing, and creating a life that I was proud of and that I knew I was in the right place.”
He added that the award represents “years of growing a dream that constantly evolved,” noting that the dream is still evolving today.
The annual James Beard Awards are among the nation’s most prestigious culinary honors, recognizing excellence in restaurants, bars, hospitality, and food service across the United States.
See below for the full list of 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Winners:
Outstanding Restaurateur:
- Dana Street, Fore Street, Scales, Standard Baking Co., and others, Portland, ME
Outstanding Chef:
- Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco, CA
Outstanding Restaurant presented by Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water:
Emerging Chef presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water:
- Adrian Torres, Maximo, West University Place, TX
Best New Restaurant:
Outstanding Bakery:
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker:
- Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Hospitality:
- Providence, Los Angeles, CA
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program:
Outstanding Bar:
- Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
Best New Bar:
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service:
- Lee Campbell, Borgo, New York, NY
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service:
- Kevin Diedrich, Pacific Cocktail Haven, San Francisco, CA
Best Chefs (by region)
Best Chef: California:
- Dave Beran, Seline, Santa Monica, CA
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH):
- Jacob Potashnick, Feld, Chicago, IL
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA):
- Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Philadelphia, PA
Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI):
- Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box, Webster Groves, MO
Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY):
- Penelope Wong, Yuan Wonton, Denver, CO:
Best Chef: New York State:
- Hooni Kim, Meju, Queens, NY
Best Chef: Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT):
- Evan Hennessey, Stages, Dover, NH
Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA):
- Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro, Portland, OR
Best Chef: South (AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, PR):
- Serigne Mbaye, Dakar NOLA, New Orleans, LA
Best Chef: Southeast (GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV):
- Taylor Montgomery, Montgomery Sky Farm, Leicester, NC
Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK):
- Sarah Thompson, Casa Playa, Las Vegas, NV
Best Chef: Texas:
Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, JŪN, Houston, TX
Emily Turner
Emily Turner is the community deputy editor for Boston.com, where she oversees reader engagement.
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