Vermont Chamber names Two Brothers ‘Restaurateur of the Year’
Looking for an aprés spot? Try Middlebury’s Two Brothers Tavern, named 2017 Restaurateur of the Year yesterday at Vermont’s annual Tourism Summit, held this week in Stowe.
“It’s … golly. It’s a huge honor,” said an almost-speechless Holmes Jacobs, co-owner of Two Brothers. “We’re deeply humbled. There are so many incredible restaurants and restaurateurs in Vermont, and we are incredibly flattered to be nominated and chosen for this honor.”
The award is one of four given within the Vermont Chamber Hospitality Awards segment of the summit. The Vermont Chamber of Commerce website reads: “These awards celebrate the hospitality and tourism industry’s vast contributions to the state economy, and acknowledge these award winners as stand-out achievers within the industry. These are individuals who enhance Vermont’s iconic brand.”
Specifically, the Restaurateurs of the Year Award recognizes those who demonstrate excellence in operating and managing a restaurant in Vermont.
Two Brothers Tavern, which opened in Middlebury in 2002, is a family-run business known for its commitment to the community. Over the years, the restaurant has held philanthropic dining events and fundraisers to benefit local organizations, like Cocktails Curing Cancer, the annual Face Off Against Breast Cancer party, the Adam Myers Memorial Fundraiser, and Porter Hospital Auxiliary’s Beat Back the Blues, among others.
In 2015, Two Brothers won the Addison County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award for its continued community support.
Two Brothers is currently wrapping up a renovation project, during which they’ve gutted and redesigned the restaurant’s main kitchen, serving a revised menu of Neapolitan pizza from a new kitchen in their downstairs lounge in the meantime. On April 21, it will celebrate the completion of the project with a grand re-opening party.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we do,” Jacobs said, “and we’re very proud of our staff. We really owe it all to them. We did not see this coming, and we’re very humbled.”
Featured photo: Holmes Jacobs accepts the 2017 Restauranteur of the Year on Wednesday evening at the Vermont Tourism Summit in Stowe. Photo courtesy of David Burnell.
