Award time at the Bar and Restaurant Expo

The Bar & Restaurant Expo has announced winners for all three of its esteemed industry awards: Industry Excellence Awards, Industry Impact Award and the Supplier Awards. Celebrating exceptional contributions to the bar and restaurant industry, this year’s winners represent the epitome of creativity, dedication and innovation in the hospitality sector.

“Congratulations to this year’s winners! From redefining the guest experience to creating groundbreaking products, these leaders and innovators are setting new standards for success,” said Tim McLucas, Vice President of the Bar & Restaurant Group at Questex. “We are proud to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the industry.”

Complete 2025 Industry Award Winners List

2025 Industry Excellence Awards

The Industry Excellence Awards celebrate dedication to the independent bar and restaurant business. These winners exemplify integrity, commitment to equality, sustainability, community, and culture across the industry.

Winners in each category were selected by a panel of experts from Johnson & Wales University who evaluated each submission based on several criteria:

· Panel Chair: Brian Warrener, Associate Professor & Director of the Center for Beverage Education & Innovation

· Jennifer Broderick, Professor

· Sarah Malik, Associate Professor

· Deana Marzocchi, Associate Professor

· Michael O’Malley, CPS Director of Academic Programs

2025 Industry Excellence Award winners:

Bar of the Year: Tell Your Friends; Scottsdale, Arizona

Bartender of the Year: Ava Vitale, Crave; Rockford, Illinois

Best Cocktail Program: The Manor Bar; Montecito, California

Best Hospitality Training Program: Livio Lauro, EuroBar, Master Your Glass; Las Vegas, Nevada

Chef of the Year: Guy Vaknin, City Roots Hospitality; New York, New York

Community Leadership Award: Toups Family Meal; New Orleans, Louisiana

Design of the Year: Le Basque; New York, New York

Restaurant of the Year: Anixi; New York, New York

2025 Industry Impact Award Winner

This award recognizes an individual who has displayed an immense passion for their craft and has helped make significant advancements in the field. Considerations for the award include enhancing employee culture, raising the visibility of under-represented businesses and owners, implementing fair wage compensation, practicing sustainability, and supporting mental health, sobriety, and addiction recovery initiatives.

Lynnette Marrero, Chief Mixologist at House of Delola, Mixology Educator at MasterClass.com, Co-Founder of Speed-rack.com, and Mixologist at Aplos.

Lynnette is an industry pioneer and leader in cocktail innovation, dedicated to mentorship and uplifting women in hospitality. She has served as Senior Bartender at Freemans, consulted and co-designed the bar program for Elettaria in Manhattan's West Village, and, after shadowing a Zacapa Rum Master Blender in Guatemala and working as a Rum Ambassador for Diageo for two years, created her own company Drinksat6, to cultivate a new generation of cocktail bartenders and elevate the bar experience at restaurants. In 2015, Marrero opened and is now the Bar Director of Brooklyn hotspot The Llama Inn and Greenwich Village’s Llama San, which was nominated for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program in 2022. She is also known for co-creating the world's first all-female speed bartending competition, "Speed Rack." In April 2023, Lynnette launched Delola, a line of ready-to-enjoy, world-class crafted spritzes she created in partnership with Jennifer Lopez.

2025 Supplier Award Winners

Bar & Restaurant Expo’s second annual Supplier Awards honor trailblazers who have redefined the bar and restaurant landscape with their exceptional products and solutions. Suppliers submitted products for consideration across six categories, and then Bar & Restaurant Expo attendees voted on which they considered the best in each category based on their experience with the company and its product. 

The winning products are:

Best Alcoholic Beverage: Sun Cruiser Classic Iced Tea

Best Entertainment Product: DJ Trivia & DJ Bingo

Best Equipment, Tool, or Bar Supply: Barfly Mixology Gear

Best Food Product/Producer: Tater Kegs

Best Non-Alcoholic Product or Mixer: Heineken 0.0

Best Technology Product: Toast, Inc.

Bar & Restaurant Expo has continued to evolve and mirror the fast-paced, trend-setting nature of the hospitality industry. The event has been providing the specific tools that bar and restaurant owners, operators, and managers need to grow their businesses, compete, and succeed in this hyper-competitive and dynamic industry.