Today, we announce the 2026 James Beard America’s Classics® Award winners!

Part of the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, the America’s Classics® celebrate independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal. These institutions reflect local character and cultural traditions and serve as an enduring anchor for their communities by serving delicious food across many years.

This year’s winners join more than 100 restaurants across the country that have received the Award since the category’s inception in 1998. They will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 15, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

America’s Classics: Southeast

Figaretti’s Italian Restaurant
Wheeling, WV
Current Owner: Dino Figaretti

The legend of Figaretti’s started with a sauce. In West Virginia’s northern panhandle, Sicilian immigrant Anna Figaretti started making homemade spaghetti sauce for homesick Italian neighbors who had immigrated to work in local coal mines. The demand for Anna’s sauce grew so quickly that she recruited her five sons to start delivering it, which quickly helped them establish roots in their new community. The popularity of that time-honored recipe prompted them to open Figaretti’s in 1948. Nearly 80 years and three generations later, Figaretti’s remains an iconic spot with a warm and cozy dining room that welcomes guests like a hug. The eldest Figaretti often still meets diners at the door, offering them a glass of wine while walking around the dining area and scooching people over to make room for new guests.

The scene is straight out of a storybook, but the heritage-driven food is fantastic in its own right. Guests are consistently wowed by traditional pastas, including an epic lasagna, housemade sausage and sauces (like the can’t-miss Fig’s Famous Appetizer, a plate of four sausages served alongside a slow-cooked garlic marinara with sauteed local peppers and onions); fresh-cut Prime steaks; and flown-in-fresh seafood, like the splendid black mussels in olive oil and garlic. Consistent, quality food and service have made Figaretti’s a popular regional go-to, and the family’s longtime support of the Special Olympics and legacy of feeding first responders during emergencies underscores their ethos of serving their community beyond the restaurant, too.

See the full list of winners here: https://bit.ly/4r1AdqP