The San Diego County Chapter of the California Restaurant Association (CRA) recently celebrated its 23rd annual Gold Medallion Awards Banquet at the Town & Country Resort.
Designed as a “peer-to-peer” awards dinner at which only members can vote except for one People’s Choice Award recipient chosen by the public, this highly anticipated event surpassed all expectations.
“Over 1,300 people attended,” exclaimed Beverly Mascari, president of the San Diego Country Chapter of the CRA and owner of Anthony’s Fish Grotto. “This is the largest turnout ever in our history.”
Mascari, whose one-year term as chapter president expires in October, explained the voting process involving 45 categories that take into account the types of restaurants.
“Our members range from a single-owner, small restaurant to chains like Chili’s to fine dining establishments,” she said. “Our chapter also receives a tremendous amount of support from associate members who are the vendors for our restaurants.”
Local winners were: Continental / French Fine Dining Category – The Bungalow; Live Music Venue / Restaurant Category – Humphrey’s by the Bay; Neighborhood Casual Category – Bread & Cie; Seafood Casual Dining Category – Brigantine Seafood Restaurant; Steakhouse Fine Dining – Island Prime; and Sunday Brunch Restaurant Category – Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.
For the curious who may not see their favorite restaurant as an award winner, it may be because it’s not a member of the CRA-San Diego Chapter.
“We have 500 San Diego County restaurants who are members of the chapter, and it is growing all the time,” Mascari said. “However, there are over 6,000 restaurants in the entire county, and that number is also increasing.”
The awards banquet is more than just an event to pat themselves on the back. The San Diego County chapter uses proceeds from the banquet itself as well as other efforts to help the community, according to Mascari.
“We have donated and paid for the installation of a full kitchen of equipment in a number of high schools like Mira Mesa, San Diego, Morse and Garfield,” she said. “These efforts were to help them with their culinary arts programs. The education process is a big part of what we believe in with our chapter.”
Other awards are given for the Chef of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year and Associate Member of the Year.
With around 5,500 nonmember restaurants, Mascari is hopeful more will join and believes the advantages are enormous.
“One key benefit is get the latest news on all the issues impacting the restaurant business, like health codes,” she said. “California is prolific at creating all types of laws, and it can be tough to keep up to date on them. We also offer educational seminars at nominal fees which would cost much more for someone to attend on their own. When you join the local chapter you are also part of the statewide chapter and {have} access to all those resources.”
Mascari, whose family has held CRA members hip since the organization’s founding in 1946, believes the membership benefits extend well beyond keeping informed on laws and regulations.
“Immediately you will be able to connect with our associate members (vendors) who may be able to provide you with products and services more efficiently cost effective than what you have now,” she noted.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like not being a member.”
To help ensure a membership is affordable to all types of restaurants, dues are based on revenue sales for each dining establishment.
For more information on the award winners and membership options, call (619) 297-8200 or visit www.calrest.org.