A panoramic view of the city skyline, under freshly fallen snow greeted attendees to the Ohio Restaurant Association’s (ORA) 2019 Industry Awards this past Sunday evening.
A veritable “who’s who” of Ohio’s restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry were in attendance to honor the best and the brightest over the previous year. Hosted at the Ivory Room at the Miranova in downtown Columbus, the sold out event coincided with the conclusion of the first day of the Mid-America Restaurant Expo.
It was fitting for the event to be held in a Cameron Mitchell event space as the man himself took home two awards. The first was the Claude F. Morton Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I think this award may be a bit premature,” said Mitchell. “I’ve still got a lot more to do!”
For his second award of the night, Cameron Mitchell was one of three inaugural inductees into the association’s newly created Hall of Fame. Joining Mitchell in the Hall of Fame’s first class were Billy Ingram, founder of White Castle and Jeff Ruby, founder of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment.
Congrats to the winners! Here is the complete list of award recipients:
Outstanding Restaurateur
- North Region: Ray Horst, Das Dutch Haus Restaurant
- Central Region: Jessica & Thad Kittrell, 101 Beer Kitchen
- South Region: Gary Rodriguez, El Rancho Grande Family of Restaurants
Front of the House
- Brandon Rose, Jeff Ruby’s Precinct
Back of the House
- Antonino Lopez, Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern
Outstanding Vendor
- UnitedHealthcare, Alliah Sheta
Outstanding Public Officials
- Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
- Congressman Steve Stivers
Nourishing the Community
Outstanding Industry Educator
- Jim Taylor, Columbus State Community College
Industry Innovator
- Brandon Chrostowski, Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute
Tech Titan
- Prakash Karamchandani, Balance Pan-Asian Grille
Rising Stars
- Natalie & Jordan Helman, High Bank Distillery & Zest Juice Co.
- Tanisha Robinson, BrewDog USA
The Claude F. Morton Lifetime Achievement Award
- Cameron Mitchell, Founder & CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants
Hall of Fame Inductees 2019
- Billy Ingram, Founder of White Castle
- Cameron Mitchell, Founder & CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants
- Jeff Ruby, Founder Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment
Congratulations to this year’s award recipients and we look forward to another awesome year with the ORA!
