The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) announced Greater Washington Partnership (the Partnership) CEO Kathy E. Hollinger as the 2024 Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award recipient. Hollinger leads the Partnership, a first-of-its-kind alliance, uniting leading employers across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, to collaborate in building a vibrant, economically competitive, and prosperous place to live, work, and build a business. Each year, RAMW’s Executive Committee selects the recipient of the award which recognizes an individual whose hard work and outstanding initiative has increased the profile and success of the metropolitan Washington food service community and dining landscape. Needless to say, Kathy Hollinger fits that bill. Prior to joining the Partnership, Hollinger was President & CEO of RAMW and head of RAMW’s Educated Eats Foundation, where she represented the interests of thousands of restaurants and the foodservice industry for more than a decade. She has been widely recognized for her powerful leadership through years of dramatic, inclusive expansion.  And, RAMW announced its 2024 Honorary Milestone Award recipients, commemorating long-standing local restaurants and RAMW members who have been in business for over 25 years. The honorary RAMMY award is bestowed upon restaurants from casual to formal including some of the region’s most celebrated dining institutions. DC honorees include The Dubliner, recognizing 50 years as a true Irish landmark, Equinox on 19th, serving generations of Washingtonians for 25 years, KAZ Sushi Bistro, providing an iconic Japanese getaway for 25 years, and Marcel’s, celebrating 25 years of serving locals and visitors in the West End. Maryland honorees include Black’s Bar & Kitchen, bringing 25 years of innovative seafood fare to Bethesda, and Passage to India, serving authentic Indian fare for 25 years. A special reception event, The RAMMYS Honors, recognizing Kathy E. Hollinger, the Honorary Milestone Award recipients, and the 2024 Joan Hisaoka Allied Member of the Year Finalists will take place on Tuesday, June 18, at the Watergate Hotel hosted by co-host of MSNBC’s The Weekend, Symone Sanders Townsend.  We know you know but still … The 42nd Annual RAMMY Awards Gala will take place on Sunday, July 21, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. 

Read Brianna Crane & Sami Sparber's interview with Nycci, and get all the deets on hosting trends in 2024~Find out more here. Photo: A tablescape by North Carolina-based dinner party wares rental company Canary. Photo: Emily Bennett, courtesy of Beth Nash 

St Patrick's Day is here, and there are so many ways to celebrate! Listen in to Nycci's suggestions, pt 3:

Hey All, and thanks for joining me again. It was patio season and no…now it isn't. This is spring in DC. One day it’s sunny and 70 and one day it’s sunny and 30. ANYWAY. The ridiculous weather doesn’t take away my excitement from taping this month’s show at Tony & Joe’s. I am down on the sparkling Potomac water, watching the boats go by. This is a so “if you know you know” situation. Tony and Joe’s has one of the best patios in DC with views of the Kennedy Center. As I have said, once the weather hits an acceptable temperature, find me out on that patio with a tray of fresh shucked oysters and a glass of rose. Thanks as always to Greg Casten for being such a tremendous supporter of me, this show, and the work that I do.Later in the show, I’ll be chatting with Mary Taylor of Mary Taylor wines. For the span of her professional life, she has been active in all aspects of the wine industry, whether selling high-end French and Italian wines at the Sotheby’s auction, opening a retail store in lower Manhattan, serving as the president of a Tri-state area wholesale company, or working as a portfolio manager for a major distributor covering the entire United States. Fast forward to now and Mary Taylor Wine is the largest self-funded female wine importer in the United States. If you don’t know Mary Taylor - you are about to…Listen to the podcast interview here, or watch the full episode here.