RAMMYS 2025 Celebrates Resilience Amid Restaurant Industry Challenges, Offers Call to Action

For many in D.C.’s hospitality industry, it’s been an uphill battle to sustain businesses since 2020, and Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW), has had an up-close look at the complex nuances in the District’s food and beverage scene. 

“Let’s be honest — no industry has been tested more than ours since the pandemic. Closures, staffing shortages, rising costs, and yes — the fight over Initiative 82 (a voter-approved measure phasing out sub-minimum wage for tipped workers). It’s been one challenge after another,” said Townsend during RAMW’s 43rd Annual RAMMYS Awards and Gala on Aug. 3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest D.C. 

Just days before the event, D.C.’s restaurant industry became a major topic of conversation in business and politics. In addition to the D.C. Council voting on District Mayor Muriel Bowser’s efforts to repeal Initiative 82, the National Restaurant Association released a report revealing 900 jobs were lost in the hospitality industry since March.

Despite the pressure of the week, Townsend emphasized there was much to celebrate.

Entering to rapper Drake’s “What Did I Miss” (2025), as a source of inspiration, the RAMW president was on a mission: to remind RAMMYS attendees of the strength, resilience and value of D.C.’s hospitality industry and workers.

“We’ve built community. We’ve trained generations of talent. We’ve created jobs for thousands of Washingtonians. This industry has helped make D.C. not just a government town — but a food town,” Townsend said. “So when I hear about policies that hurt restaurants, measures that close doors instead of opening them, I have to ask: ‘What did I miss?’”

He noted that restaurants and bars are places to mark milestones, have first dates, birth ideas and more, before highlighting the industry’s power, particularly when coming together.

“This week reminded me: when we speak up and fight for this industry, people listen,” the RAMW president said, referring to the D.C. Council’s decision surrounding Initiative 82. 

Mayor Bowser and other restaurant workers advocated for the D.C. Council to repeal Initiative 82, despite voters supporting the ballot measure in 2022. On July 28, six days before the annual gala, the council reached a compromise that did not fully repeal the initiative, but rolled back its implementation, particularly as the restaurant industry faces serious economic challenges.

“The D.C. Council voted to take a step toward real balance for operators and workers. I want to thank them and the mayor for recognizing that this industry needs support right now-and for acting on it,” Townsend said. 

RAMMYS Provide Space for Businesses to Come Together

Amid the restaurant industry’s real challenges, the 2025 RAMMYS was a true moment for celebration, collaboration, unification and healthy competition.

“We came to see everybody that we’re gonna beat next year,” said Jeff Williams, executive chef at Willowsong, a farm-to-table concept at the InterContinental Washington, D.C.– The Wharf.  “We build our menus to scale around anything that’s available seasonally. So as every season changes, our menu changes.”

Although not eligible for a RAMMYS nomination this year, as the restaurant opened in February, Williams said Willowsong is special because it allows consumers to support small businesses and local agriculture.

“There are all those people that put their heart, time, tears, sweat, and all that stuff into making these products we bring here to give to you,” he said. “So it’s the best thing that you can get available, and it’s the best thing locally.”

While Williams and his colleague, Hakan Alagoz, general manager at Willowsong, were there to scope out some of their competitors, they emphasized they were looking forward to the camaraderie created at the annual event and through RAMW.

“I think there are a lot of small businesses who are having a really hard time at the moment,” said Alagoz, adding that Willowsong benefits from not only being the InterContinental’s flagship restaurant, but the booming business from the hotel. “Organizations like this, I think will help communities and especially small businesses, to survive in the long term. 
So we are here to support RAMW.”

While Williams is grateful for the support of the InterContinental, particularly as many local restaurants navigate financial roadblocks, he also emphasized the power of the people working in the food and beverage industry.

“I think that the negative impact is going to be felt, but restaurant people are good at a lot of things outside of being creative and creating hospitality. We’re also great at pivoting, and I think the community will change and adjust,” Williams told The Informer. “It might not look the same as it does right now, but we always come back harder.”

Joffrey Chapman, bar manager at Metrobar, a RAMMYS 2025 finalist for Best Bar, also noted the importance of creativity and collaboration to support the local hospitality industry.

“I think it’s important to be creative and use all your resources, especially with community, and outsourcing to each other in order to be sustainable in this new climate,” Chapman told The Informer.

Declaring himself as a “proud member of the service industry,” Karim Soumah has long advocated for hospitality workers and supporting small businesses. Acknowledging the last week as “challenging” for small business owners, he emphasized the importance of coming together to ensure the restaurant industry’s vitality.

“We need to make sure that we’re all on the same page. Ever since COVID, it’s been so difficult to keep these restaurants unified,” Soumah said. “But at this event, RAMW hopefully will get these restaurants and owners, small business practitioners to formulate a plan along with the city.”

Finalists, Winners, Calls to Action: ‘We Will Not Stop Fighting Back‘

Whether a winner, finalist or foodie, the RAMMYS was a fun, food-filled affair to honor the incredible value of D.C.’s hospitality industry, particularly amid the challenges restaurants and bars are facing.

“It’s so great to see all these people well dressed, of course, having a good time, finally able to relax,” Soumah told The Informer. “Our industry’s been under a lot of stress. So, finally, we get a chance to unwind and enjoy ourselves for a brief moment.”

As bar manager at Metrobar in Northeast D.C. — which features indoor and outdoor bars and is known for its signature redesigned Metro car — Chapman said events like the RAMMYS keep service industry workers inspired.

“It’s important to see our contributions to the community— that’s working with local community brands, and stuff like that—seeing that work just being rewarded and recognized,” Chapman said, celebrating Metrobar’s nomination as a 2025 finalist. 

This year’s winners included: Tune Inn Restaurant and Bar for Best Bar of the Year, Le Diplomate, for Best Brunch of the Year, and Dew Drop Inn, for Favorite Gathering place of the Year, all categories voted for by the public; Carlos Delgado of Causa | Amazonia for Chef of the Year; Tail Up Goat for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year; and Era Wine Bar for Wine Program of the Year, among several other awards.

For three-time RAMMYS nominee Era Wine Bar, located in Mount Rainier, Maryland – on Rhode Island Avenue right over the D.C. line – 2025 was finally their year.

“We are filled with gratitude,” said Dr. Michelle Grant, who co-owns Era Wine Bar with her husband Ka-Ton Grant. “It appears that the third time was the charm. It is great to be recognized by our peers. Everyone in this industry works so hard. My husband and I are bright and happy.” 

With open bars, a smorgasbord of food offerings, exciting music from Black Alley Band and live DJs, games and activations sponsored by various organizations and businesses, and appearances from the Washington Nationals presidential mascots, the evening was nothing short of entertaining. 

However, there was still a push for advocacy. 

Considering the progress local restaurants and bars have made in the D.C. area, many people see the current economic climate as a small bump in the road for D.C.’s hospitality industry, which has overcome a lot of difficulties in the past.

“Now, through economic development, we have found a way to transform our culture,” Soumah explained. “We’re proud of that. Every community in every neighborhood can claim a restaurant or bar and say that it represents some part of them. We want to preserve that.”

While he celebrates the contributions of the service industry, Soumah said he believes Initiative 82 “has been insidious the last seven years,” and is part of a bigger plan to close more restaurants to bring in chain establishments. 

“They want to come in and make certain cultural arguments, where the bottom line is a push out of small businesses, and to integrate big box businesses into D.C.,” he told The Informer. “I have a message for them. It is too late and we will not stop fighting back.” 

As RAMW president, Townsend also offered a call to action to continue advocacy, while also emphasizing the importance of honoring the industry’s resilience and ability to triumph in the face of trials.

“We all know that our work is far from over,” Townsend said. “But tonight, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come.”