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Monk: Congrats to the 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalists! They were announced a little over a week ago, and from a barbecue standpoint Christopher Prieto of Prime Barbecue was the only pitmaster from North Carolina nominated. This was his first nomination.
Impressively, Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia was nominated for a second time – perhaps the first time someone from the barbecue world has been nominated two years in an row. That’s big time.
By my count, there were 8 nominations from the barbecue world. The Southeast made up 2 of those, as did Texas. The remaining nominations were from California, Mid-Atlantic, South, and in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. The full list is available here.
- Outstanding Restaurateur – Daisy Ryan and Greg Ryan, Companion Hospitality (Bell’s, Bar Le Cote, Priedite BBQ, and others), Los Alamos, CA
- Best Chef: California – Darryl Bell, Stateline Road Smokehouse, Napa, CA
- Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic – Fernando Gonzalez, 2Fifty Barbeque, Riverdale, MD and Washington, DC
- Best Chef: South – Jordan Wright, Wright’s Barbecue, Johnson, AR
- Best Chef: Southeast – Christopher Prieto, Prime Barbecue, Knightdale, NC;
- Best Chef: Southeast – Robbie Robinson, City Limits Barbeque, West Columbia, SC
- Best Chef: Texas – Fasicka Hicks and Patrick Hicks, Smoke’N Ash BBQ, Arlington, TX
- Best Chef: Texas – Evan LeRoy, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Austin, TX
Nominees for the 35h Annual James Beard Award will be announced on Wednesday, April 2, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16. Will someone from the barbecue world win Best Chef? Stay tuned and we’ll find out in a couple of months.
Native News
On the sad side of things, a trio of stories from the world of North Carolina barbecue:
Kyle Fletcher of Kyle Fletcher’s Barbecue in Lowell passed away earlier this year and leaves behind a “legacy of kindness”
Short Sugar’s in Reidsville has closed after 75 years in business
And to add to the misery, Kepley’s in the Barbecue Bros hometown of High Point will close next month after 75 years open
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