James Beard Foundation Names 2020 America's Classics Award Winners

On Thursday (Feb. 20), the James Beard Foundation announced the six recipients of its 2020 America’s Classics Awards, honoring regional establishments for their “quality food, local character, and lasting appeal.” You know the places you go to and think there’s nothing like it anywhere else? That’s what this award celebrates. Places like Schultz’s Crab House in Maryland or Keens in NYC made the list in the past. The classics, plain and simple.

This year’s batch of winners, who will be honored at the James Beard Awards Gala at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4, range from a Mexican restaurant in Denver and a Texan barbecue joint to a Filipino market in Seattle. The foundation revealed each honoree one by one on its Instagram page over the course of a week.

The America’s Classics category was introduced back in 1998, and as Eater points out, “Winners are typically more than a decade-old, often family-owned, and distinguished by ‘quality food that reflects the character of their communities.’”

You can check out a complete list of the winners below, and read more about them here.

Lassis Inn
518 E. 27th St., Little Rock, AR
Owners: Elihue Washington Jr. and Maria Washington

Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth
730 S. Main St., Frankenmuth, MI
Owner: Al Zehnder, Susan Zehnder, and Martha Zehnder Shelton

Puritan Backroom
245 Hooksett Rd., Manchester, NH
Owner: Arthur Pappas, Chris Pappas, and Eric Zink

Oriental Mart
1506 Pike Pl., #509, Seattle, WA
Owner: Mila Apostol and Joy Apostol

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To announce our second winner of the 2020 America's Classics Award, we teamed up with @seattlefoodieadventure: congratulations to Oriental Mart in Seattle! To learn more about this Pike Place Market institution, take a look at our Stories. Want to see who else is taking home the America's Classics #jbfa? Tune in tomorrow.

A post shared by James Beard Foundation (@beardfoundation) on Feb 18, 2020 at 9:02am PST