Love it or loathe it, the James Beard Foundation has near unquestionable authority when it comes to the nation’s restaurant industry. In addition to giving chefs major star power through the James Beard Awards, the organization also hosts events throughout the year, connecting industry members with experts in their fields.
Founded in 1991, “the Beards” brought chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders, and other industry professionals to New York City in droves for the annual awards. The ceremony later moved to Chicago in 2015, where it’s been ever since. But that will change in 2029, when a new city takes over hosting duties.
In July, the James Beard Foundation announced it was seeking a successor to Chicago for the awards. The announcement invited tourism boards and local organizations with the cash to submit bids to become the next host city for the James Beard Awards.
Responses to the foundation’s initial request for information are due Aug. 7. Cities chosen to move forward in the process will receive a request for proposal by Aug. 17, with responses due by Sept. 30. The foundation will announce the new host city early next year, with the winner hosting the James Beard Awards from 2029 to 2033.
The economics
One lead organization can bid on behalf of a partnership of organizations, including regional and state collaborations. City, state, and regional tourism boards, for example, could combine forces, with one organization leading the charge. A minimum of $4 million during the first year of hosting the awards is required, with incremental increases each year not exceeding 5%.
In other words, a request for proposal must prove the future host city’s financial commitment to the awards ceremony over a five-year period.
According to Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company, the 2026 James Beard Awards and official events surrounding it generated $8.3 million. With a regional impact totaling $17 million, the awards also generated close to $1.2 million in state and local tax revenues for Illinois and Chicago.
The “Beard bubble”
Simply snagging a James Beard Award nomination can greatly alter a restaurant or hospitality professional’s trajectory. While Steven Satterfield won Best Chef: Southeast in 2017, his restaurant, Miller Union, experienced a boost each time he was nominated.
“Winning is great, but I was also nominated five years in a row. It was a huge deal for my career, but also for Miller Union. Some of our busiest times were from spring 2017 up until the pandemic. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Satterfield said.
Claudia Martinez, who received nominations for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2020, 2022, and 2026 for her work at Tiny Lou’s, Miller Union, and Bar Ana, respectively, called the James Beard Foundation’s recognition “a dream come true.”
People came to Miller Union just to try her desserts, Satterfield said of Martinez’s tenure at his Brady Avenue restaurant.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted, and I think it pushes me more. It’s great to see people being recognized for their work — not just me, but people in Atlanta. I think it’s helped me get more exposure, and it’s helped [Bar Ana],” she said.
Jen Hidinger-Kendrick, founder and senior director of individual giving at Giving Kitchen, said receiving the foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2019 helped the charity grow from a statewide organization to a nationwide organization.
The Atlanta nonprofit provides crisis grants and relief to hospitality workers. Giving Kitchen received inquiries from restaurant owners and operators and hospitality partners following the 2019 recognition.
“It really set a stage for us to do the national work that we’ve been doing,” Hidinger-Kendrick said of the James Beard award. “It really opened the door to new partnerships and new conversations about the realities facing food service workers.”
A survey conducted by the James Beard Foundation estimates that 96% of the 2025 finalists experienced a positive effect from just being nominated. That success naturally overflows to the host city, providing guaranteed revenue to restaurants, beyond a particular year’s nominees. Exclusive after-party venues and partnerships regularly boost current host Chicago’s dining community.
Satterfield has been attending the Beards for 13 years, and witnessed the “Beard bubble” effect on Chicago.
“I [watched] how it changed the Chicago dining scene and opened up a lot of doors for the chefs there. I think a lot of the people that were dining in Chicago were spending a little bit more time drilling down onto the food scene,” Satterfield said. “As a result, there were a lot more nominees in the Chicago area.”
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Will Atlanta, or won’t it
Satterfield isn’t alone in believing that hosting the James Beard Awards would shine a light on Atlanta’s dining scene. There’s no question that Atlanta is capable of hosting an event of this scale. The city hosted the 1996 Olympics, along with hundreds of thousands of fans during the FIFA World Cup this summer. And it will play host again to another Super Bowl in 2028.
Atlanta chef Deborah VanTrece, a 2023 nominee for Best Chef: Southeast, said there’s no question Atlanta could host the James Beard Awards.
“Why would we not believe in ourselves? We’ve proven we can pretty much handle anything at this point in this city, and do it well,” VanTrece insisted.
The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB), however, independently told the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Rough Draft Atlanta that the organization would not be “pursuing a bid to host the James Beard Awards for the 2029–2033 cycle.”
The ACVB declined to comment further on the reason why the organization wasn’t bidding. Interestingly, the Philly Inquirer reported that the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) will also not pursue a bid to host the Beards. The tourism board stated that hosting requirements for the awards didn’t align with PHLCVB’s mission.
Of note, both convention bureaus spearheaded bringing the Michelin guide to their respective cities: Atlanta in 2023 and 2024, and Philadelphia in 2025. ACVB entered into a tourism partnership with Travel South USA last year to expand the Michelin guide to other Southern cities.
Atlanta food and culture writer Mike Jordan won the foundation’s Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award in 2024 for his coverage of Atlanta’s restaurants and restaurant culture. With the rise of social media and influencers, Jordan worries that “performative and provocative” hot takes bury more nuanced coverage of innovative local chefs and restaurants.
“I don’t think Atlanta, as a functioning city, understands how much better we need to be marketing our dining scene and how misunderstood it is, and what that can do overall for the city,” said Jordan of the importance of hosting major culinary events like the James Beard Awards.
Atlanta restaurants in the spotlight
Hosting what’s known in the industry as the “Oscars of the food world” would showcase how metro Atlanta’s diverse, diasporic population has helped shape the restaurant community, VanTrece said.
“We have so many different pockets all over the city, with different neighborhoods [home to] neighborhood restaurants [and] award-winning restaurants,” she said. “I don’t think we necessarily are getting the respect as a food community that we should here, and I think if people actually came [to Atlanta] for that, they will be surprised at what they see [on our restaurant scene.]”
Andrés Loaiza traveled to Chicago for the awards in 2025 and 2026. His Buckhead restaurant, Aria, was nominated two years in a row in the Outstanding Hospitality category. He sees two ways hosting the Beards could positively affect Atlanta’s restaurant community.
It would allow industry workers local access to the foundation’s panels and discussions without the need for travel and vastly expand networking opportunities.
“[Accessing] that level of talent can be really transformative for our city, like a young chef that goes to a panel discussion about sustainability can change the way they think about their whole career,” Loaiza explained of the possibility of being a host city for the awards.
He also believes it would magnify the narrative of Atlanta being an established food city. And with Atlanta’s increased visibility, the positive effects from hosting the James Beard Awards could extend to other restaurant communities across Georgia.
“When we talk about Atlanta, we talk about what the opportunities are here, but I think there’s an opportunity to increase the vision that the Savannah restaurant community has, Columbus, Athens, Augusta, all of those,” said Stephanie Fischer, president and CEO of the Georgia Restaurant Association. “Atlanta has the most restaurants, of course, but we have some other great cities that offer lovely dining options for guests around the world.”
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But if an organization doesn’t step forward to bid on behalf of Atlanta to host the awards, Martinez hopes another Southern city will bid.
“I think awards like [the Beards] need to be moved around just to see more talent and create more connections with other chefs and professionals,” she said.
Jordan agrees.
As the USA South Academy Chair for 50 Best North America, Jordan thinks Atlanta should consider bidding to host North America’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in the future.
“The final decision may not be Atlanta’s to make, but Atlanta could bid for both of these awards ceremonies,” Jordan said, who feels just vying for James Beard Awards hosting duties would build on the momentum created by the arrival of Michelin three years ago.
“We’ve already hosted Michelin, so why wouldn’t we bid for the Beards” he added.
