Buffalo restaurants Waxlight Bar á Vin and Southern Junction were named finalists in two categories at the 2024 James Beard Awards.

Ryan Fernandez of Southern Junction was named a finalist for Best Emerging Chef, while Waxlight Bar á Vin was recognized in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category.

While neither ultimately took home their respective awards, those who help to keep these restaurants running were honored to be nominated. 

“It was truly an honor to be considered with such impressive fellow contestants,” said Waxlight partner and sommelier Tony Rials. 

“Any day you walk through our doors, you will be taken care of by one of us,” said Jessica Forster, partner and certified sommelier at Waxlight. “We have the most intimate knowledge of everything we produce. When it comes to our wine list, we've visited many of the wineries and have been to all the wine regions represented. This personal touch is part of our ethos. Our fellow category finalists are such talented teams who take their programs as seriously as we do. To be nominated alongside them is an honor all its own.”

Fernandez was up against four notable chefs from across the country.

“We’ve been so busy since the nominations were first announced in January,” he said. “We’ve met so many new people since then—locals, tourists, visiting press—it's more than I could have imagined given that our full-service restaurant has not even been open a full year yet. I am so honored to be nominated with such talented chefs. We have a lot in common, including that none of us could achieve this without our teams. My team and I love what we do and we love sharing barbecue with Buffalo. That won’t change anytime soon.”

You can view the list of the winners here.