On Monday, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) announced that the 39th Annual RAMMY Awards will return to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The ceremony will be an in-person event held on Sunday, September 19, 2021. New this year, the awards will pivot once again to honor the industry for the extraordinary ways in which its operators, distributors and suppliers, and industry partners were innovative, rethinking operations and navigating recent challenges in creative ways.
The RAMMY Awards honor the accomplishments of the restaurant and foodservice industry across the Metropolitan Washington region. It also shines a light on some bright and talented stars who are the best of the best in that year. Rather than honor winners in the 21 categories that are typically recognized, RAMW plans to bring the industry together to celebrate and recover from the devastation of the last year in a different way. Recognizing that it would not be fair to assess the industry on performance in 2020, this year’s categories that speak to all the ways that the region’s industry uniquely met those challenges. Also unique to this year, nearly half of the honors bestowed will be voted on by the public.
Special for this year only, membership in RAMW is not a prerequisite for nomination. Anyone in the public can nominate and those in the industry can nominate themselves and others for the following 2021 RAMMY Awards categories:
- Managers of the Year
- Employees of the Year
- Formal Fine Dining in a Box
- Most Innovative To-Go Packaging Game
- Outstanding Covid-Safe Redesign (Indoors or Outdoors)
- Most Impressive Pivot to Provisions or Market
- Good Neighbor Award
Publicly Voted Categories:
- Outstanding Ghost Kitchen or Pop-Up Concept
- Coolest Cocktails and Beverages To-Go
- Standout Family Meal Packages To-Go
- Prime Pandemic Patio Scene
- Technology Trailblazers
- Splendid Holidays at Home Offerings
- Festive Foodie Experiences
- Hottest New Sandwich Spot
- Stellar Brunches at Home
RAMW began accepting online nominations for the above categories at www.therammys.org on Monday, May 24, 2021. Nominations will be accepted through 11:59pm, the evening of June 13, 2021. Due to the success of last year’s hybrid format, some portions of the awards program will be available for live streaming.
