🔒CT restaurants use James Beard Awards’ publicity to fuel growth

Until 2023, Connecticut had not had a James Beard Awards finalist in the national “Outstanding Restaurant” category in 17 years.

That streak was broken two years ago when West Hartford Peruvian restaurant Coracora, set in a nondescript former McDonald’s location, stunned critics by being named among five national finalists for the coveted title.

Coracora is among a handful of Connecticut restaurants that have benefited from the national attention brought by the annual James Beard Awards, which are considered among the U.S.’ most prestigious culinary arts recognitions.

This year, Westport-based restaurateur Brian Lewis is a finalist for “Best Chef in the Northeast” for the third time, and he’s determined to win the title.

Lewis is the CEO and owner of Full House Hospitality Group, which has more than 100 employees across four restaurants. He was also a finalist for Best Chef in the Northeast in 2018 and 2022.

Although he’s the top executive of his company, Lewis still considers himself, first and foremost, a chef.

“The balance between being an artist and the art dealer is a really apt kind of analogy,” Lewis said. “As far as being the artist, being the chef, I have an apron on every day when I come to work. And sometimes I’m forced into more of a CEO role.”

Lewis said he works with his business partner — Kirk Saari — on some of the business decisions related to running a restaurant group.

“I think I’m a better chef than I am a businessman,” Lewis said with a laugh. “I’m the one that messes up the food costs when I cook, because I just want the best.”

Four restaurants

Full House Hospitality Group has two restaurant concepts: The Cottage, which offers upscale American cooking in a cozy atmosphere; and OKO Kitchen, which fuses traditional Japanese techniques and ingredients with Lewis’ signature culinary style, and focuses on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

In 2015, Lewis opened his first restaurant, The Cottage in Westport, in an intimate 54-seat setting.

He said he never thought he’d operate three more.

“A lot of it was serendipity and just really good circumstances,” Lewis said.

The idea for OKO, he said, came to him in a dream. After studying Japanese culture and cuisine, he decided to move forward with the idea.

In 2017, he opened his first OKO restaurant in Westport. He opened his next OKO in Rye, New York, in 2019.

He opened his fourth restaurant, The Cottage in Greenwich, in 2022.

Lewis said he hopes the James Beard publicity will help him grow the business — whether that means adding new brands, expanding his existing footprint outside of Fairfield and Westchester counties, or both.

He said he’s developing a new restaurant concept, but isn’t ready to talk about it yet.

“Quite honestly, I want to push myself into other areas that are outside of — not necessarily my skill set by any means — but my comfort zone, whether it’s from a business standpoint or a creative standpoint,” Lewis said.

Serendipitous rise

Coracora never sought the publicity it eventually received, either.

Two immigrants from Coracora, Peru, opened the restaurant in 2011. Now, it’s owned by their daughters, Macarena and Grecia Ludena.

Grecia Ludena said the restaurant’s sales approximately doubled the year it became a finalist for Outstanding Restaurant.

“Every day was a busy day,” she said. “Of course, that meant more employees to hire, more crowds in the kitchen. And that was something new for us.”

The Ludenas said the main ingredients to their success are high-quality food, exceptional customer service and consistency. Those attributes led to a positive New York Times review in 2013, but it was the James Beard nomination that brought them into the limelight.

“I think that James Beard pushed us a little bit, in a sense, because now we had a platform, people were paying attention,” Grecia Ludena said. “And, we really want to make it like a huge statement.”

Coracora’s first glimpse at national fame came in 2022 when Macarena Ludena was named a semifinalist for “Best Chef in the Northeast.” Also that year, the restaurant was a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant.

In 2024, Coracora was again named a finalist for Outstanding Restaurant — the third time in three years.

Although Coracora hasn’t won the top award, the recognition has attracted new business and fueled an expansion.

“We were on the news. It was crazy. People were coming in asking all the waiters about seeing us on TV, or reading about it,” Macarena Ludena said. “It was incredible, because we can share our food with more people, and we can tell our story to more people.”

Coracora plans to open a second location in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square later this year. The space at 51 Isham Road is the former home of Rosa Mexicano restaurant.

It will feature a full bar and professional restaurant design, expanding possibilities beyond the confines of their current home, built for a fast-food chain.

They plan to keep both locations open; their current spot will become a fast-casual eatery, while the one in Blue Back Square will be an upscale, full-service restaurant. Work on the build-out of the new restaurant is currently underway.

The Ludenas also plan to start a catering business thanks to the addition of a private dining area in the Blue Back Square space.

Coracora now employs about 23 people, but plans to add more when the new location opens.

The sisters said they’ve had patrons come from neighboring states, and even across the country, to try their food.

It’s not unusual for restaurants to attract customers from other states after receiving national recognition, said Kate Terricciano, president of Southington-based Image Marketing, which represents Blue Back Square.

“From a marketing standpoint, landing a James Beard Award, or even a nomination, can seriously boost a restaurant’s brand recognition,” Terricciano said. “In today’s world, where everyone’s using social media and influencers to get noticed, a Beard announcement is so unique that it makes a restaurant stand out by giving instant credibility and media attention.”

Foodie destination

Coracora’s success comes as the state focuses on marketing itself as a foodie destination.

The campaign focuses on the state’s diverse array of dining options, from sumptuous restaurants in Fairfield County to pizza and oysters along the shoreline.

In 2024, Reneé Touponce, executive chef of Port of Call and Oyster Club in Mystic, became the first chef in Connecticut to be nominated as a semifinalist in the James Beard Outstanding Chef category.

Additionally, David Standridge of The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic won Best Chef in the Northeast in 2024.

Lewis, who hopes to build on Connecticut’s culinary prowess, said his path to becoming one of the top chefs in the Northeast has taken him all over the world.

He grew up in Somers, New York, and began cooking at 13 after a football injury dashed his dreams of one day playing the sport professionally.

He pursued a formal education at The Culinary Institute of America, then earned a bachelor’s degree in food service management from Johnson & Wales University.

Then, he apprenticed under renowned chefs in Washington, D.C., London and New York City.

After that, he traveled between New York City and the West Coast, “cooking his way up the ranks from sous chef to chef de cuisine to eventually executive chef with some of the country’s most celebrated talents,” according to his biography.

Lewis then became founding executive chef at the Bedford Post Inn, which is actor Richard Gere’s boutique hotel and restaurant in Bedford, New York. With Lewis at the helm of the kitchen, the restaurant made Esquire’s “Best New Restaurant” list in 2009.

Six years later, Lewis founded Full House Hospitality Group, around the same time he had twin boys, now 11 years old. He, his fiancee and children reside in Wilton.

“I’ve evolved, for sure, as a chef, as a business person,” Lewis said. “I think being a father has been a huge attribute and contributing factor to how I live.”