We’ve become accustomed to Savannah restaurants making their way onto any number of ‘best of’ lists out there. As the food scene in the area has continued to percolate, the amount of national attention Savannah has received for outstanding eats has continued to grow, simply because it is well deserved. The latest light to shine on the Hostess City comes from the James Beard Foundation, America’s highest culinary honor.

Savannah’s Common Thread and Lone Wolf Lounge were both named Semi-finalists for Beard Awards in 2025. In America’s top 20 for their category.

Common Thread’s Brandon Carter and Joseph Harrison have been nominated for Best Chef: Southeast. Lone Wolf Lounge in the category of Outstanding Bar..yes, in America.

Congratulations to both, they are two of our best.

Common Thread, at the corner of Abercorn and 37th streets in Savannah, became an instant hit when they opened their doors in early 2021. In 2022, they were named one of Bon Appétit Magazine’s Best New Restaurants. Beyond that, it has been relatively quiet around this restaurant, of course until now.

Common Thread is part of the FARM Hospitality Group, which includes FARM Bluffton (also one of the area’s best), Wildflower Café inside the Jepson Museum, Strangebird and the latest to open, Flora and Fauna in the Starland District. There is excellence across the board with this group.

Hidden behind an unmarked door in the middle of a quiet neighborhood, Lone Wolf Lounge has been recognized nationally a number of times in the 6 plus years they’ve been open in the Starland/Thomas Square area. They bill themselves as a neighborhood watering hole, which they absolutely are, but that doesn’t do their commitment to excellence any justice. Andrew Ripley and Tom Worley have created one of Savannah’s best craft cocktail bars for years now.

The James Beard Foundation released their list of semi-finalists Wednesday morning. Finalists will be announced in May with 2025 James Beard Award Winners announced at their annual ceremony in Chicago in June.

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