RAMW Announces RAMMY Honors Ahead of Summer Gala

Washington’s hospitality heavyweights gathered beneath the gleaming chandeliers of The Watergate Hotel last week for the 3rd Annual RAMMYS Honors Cocktail Reception, an evening devoted to celebrating the restaurateurs, risk-takers, and regional institutions shaping the capital’s dining culture.

Hosted by Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, the soirée served up spirited conversation alongside well-earned accolades, ahead of this summer’s big awards, the RAMMYS.

Mayor Muriel Bowser received the prestigious Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award before settling in for a fireside chat with MS NOW’s Symone Sanders-Townsend, where the pair reflected on the evolving role restaurants play in Washington’s neighborhoods and civic life.

The evening also applauded milestone makers and hospitality mainstays, including Stratus, which received an Honorary RAMMYS Award, while longtime local businesses were toasted for decades of service to the city’s ever-changing culinary scene.

With Jummy Olabanji emceeing and RAMW President and CEO Shawn Townsend welcoming the crowd, the night felt equal parts celebration and love letter to the resilient restaurant community that keeps Washington wonderfully well-fed.