Karri here, just trying not to rage as I watch the Axios Slack channels blow up as my colleagues in 29 other cities share their local James Beard Award semifinalists.
- Nashville : Four.
- Atlanta : Six.
- North Carolina cities : Eight.
- Y’all, Bentonville, Arkansas — a city of about 60,000 people — got two.
Driving the news: The Beard Foundation announced its semifinalist nominees yesterday and Richmond got snubbed. Again.
Why it matters: The awards are considered the most prestigious recognition for the nation’s best restaurants, chefs and bar programs.
- And Richmond got nothing, for the second year in a row — third if you count the fact the organization canceled the awards in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Catch up quick: The JBF awards started in 1990 and Richmond was recognized by the foundation occasionally in the award’s first two decades ( thrice , in fact, in 1995, 1996 and 2008).
- Then the 2010s hit — the decade that forged and solidified Richmond’s dining scene and put the city on the national culinary map, per the Times-Dispatch (read: me. I wrote it).
- 2010 started an 11-year run for Richmond and the James Beard Awards, including 2018 and 2019 when the city’s dining community garnered a record four semifinalists. Two locals got nominated again in 2020 .