COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nominations for the James Beard Awards were announced Wednesday, with some going to local dining staples.
Tim Gardner, the owner of Lula Drake Wine Parlor, describes the moments after finding out his restaurant was a semifinalist for a 2024 James Beard Award. This year they were nominated for the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages program category.
"You know something is happening when your phone blows up, getting texts and phone calls from all over," Gardner said.
It's not a foreign feeling for the team at Lula Drake, as this is the second time they've been nominated. Last year, they made it to the final round of the awards, even taking a trip to Chicago for the presentations.
"We saw a huge increase in travelers that normally will go to Charleston and skip over Columbia to go to Greenville its been wonderful to see people come into our city," Gardner said. "It was great for our staff to see that yes, we're in that company, we can, we can toe the line here."
He explains after the nominations are announced, they have a stressful, months-long process before finalists are announced on April 3rd.
Winners are announced during a ceremony in early June.
According to the James Beard Foundation, the awards committee, subcommittees, and judges comprise the voting body for the finalists and semi-finalists. Anyone can submit nominations for semi-finalists, and winners receive a medallion certificate.
It's a process that exciting for Kiki Cyrus, the owner of Kiki's Chicken and Waffles. This is the first time her business has been named as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award.
"With being a soul food restaurant, being a Black-owned restaurant, being in business for almost twelve years- that alone is a good recognition because not a lot of restaurants make it past that three-year, five-year mark," she said.
The awards also cast a light on the city as a whole, according to Charlene Slaughter at Experience Columbia.
"It helps us in terms of tourism marketers to talk about Columbia as a tourism destination; it gives credibility. It lets us say, not just for us to be able to say it, but somebody else to recognize how great our food scene is, it's really wonderful," she said.
City Limits Barbeque's Robbie Robinson was also nominated for Best Chef: Southeast. For more information on the awards, you can visit this website.