BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The owners of Las Ramblas in Brownsville came home empty-handed Monday night from the James Beard Awards after making the final five in the Outstanding Bar division.
Michael Limas and Christopher Galicia of Las Ramblas at Market Square in Downtown Brownsville spoke with ValleyCentral back in March about their nomination and invitation to the 2023 James Beard Foundation Awards.
Referred to as the “Oscars” of the food and drink industry, the James Beard Foundation award is a huge honor for these Rio Grande Valley natives. The brothers said they were honored to have been a part of something so grand.
Las Ramblas was one of the top five nominated bars with Bar Leather Apron, from Honolulu, HI; Drastic Measures, from Shawnee, KS; Garagiste, from Las Vegas, NV; and Rob Roy, from Seattle, WA.
Last night Bar Leather Apron took the award. Just like the owners of Las Ramblas, the winners said when they created their bar seven years ago, they did not intend to win awards but rather to show the people in their community and beyond that they could create something special.
Limas shared the same sentiment when ValleyCentral spoke with him back in March.
“For us, it’s all about representation,” Limas said. “We always felt we had a quality product and these massive institutions like the James Beard we always thought ‘How would they know how good we are if they never look our way.’”
Open since May 2019, Las Ramblas aims to create a welcoming environment where people can hang out with friends or enjoy a date night.
The bar is located in Downtown Brownsville and prides itself on its creative drink assortment. Every month, the team crafts a new menu of unique cocktails for guests to enjoy.
