A bar in Savannah is among 20 national semifinalists for Outstanding Bar in a prestigious awards contest, sometimes referred to as “the Oscars of the food world.”
Savannah’s Lone Wolf Lounge has achieved what no other watering hole in the Hostess City has done before: garner a James Beard Foundation Award nomination for Outstanding Bar.
Co-owner Andrew Jay Ripley was caught off guard by the recognition, announced last week by the New York-based culinary arts nonprofit, whose annual awards are among the restaurant and beverage industry’s highest honors.
“One of my friends contacted me to let me know, completely out of the blue,” Ripley said. “We don’t have any kind of PR department or anything. We just found out when everyone found out.”
The tavern, tucked away in the Thomas Square neighborhood — also known as the Starland District — stands apart from the bevy of bars found in the city’s tourist-centric downtown, as Lone Wolf Lounge caters primarily to people who call Savannah home rather than a vacation destination.
“We’re a neighborhood bar; we’re not looking for awards or anything,” Ripley said. “We do what we do, but our main focus is definitely on our community,” he said, adding that the bar often collaborates with other local establishments in Thomas Square for pop-up events and artistic showcases.
Lone Wolf Lounge is Georgia’s sole semifinalist in the Outstanding Bar category, which features 19 other nominees across the U.S., spanning major metropolitan areas to rural America and everywhere in between.
“We’re proud of what we put out in terms of the cocktails and the pricing, to make it a place that you can go to every day,” Ripley said. “You don’t have to save up money to come, like for a special occasion. We’re just a place you can drop by and see what’s going on that day.”
While this marks the first time a Savannah bar has received a nod for Outstanding Bar, according to the James Beard Foundation’s award archives, several local chefs and restaurants have earned nominations and even scored wins across various categories over the years.
Common Thread, a nearby restaurant also located in Thomas Square, is continuing that tradition of culinary excellence this year as a nominee for best chefs in the Southeast.
The semifinalist pool will be winnowed down to a list of finalists in April, with winners announced at the foundation’s annual June awards ceremony in Chicago.
While Ripley remains optimistic about his bar’s chances, above all else he’s grateful simply for the opportunity to show up for Savannah: “There’s so many great bars in this town and so many great restaurants. I’m just excited to be able to be a representative of a really great city.”
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
