The James Beard Foundation announced semifinalists of their annual awards honoring American food, drink and hospitality. Historically, frustratingly, coffee has been left out of the proceedings. Which in itself isn’t entirely surprising, coffee shops aren’t nominated for food awards because, for all the legitimacy the last decade has brought to specialty coffee, it still hasn’t “emerged” in the same way as cocktails, beer or distilleries.
However, we may be witnessing the dam starting to break and coffee gaining recognition in the form of nominations for the first time. Onyx Coffee LaboratoryA Rogers, Arkansas coffee shop has been named a semifinalist in the Outstanding Bar category in the 2026 James Beard Awards.
To be nominated for an Outstanding Bar award, a venue must be “a wine bar, beer bar, cocktail bar, café or any other business whose primary offering is beverages and that demonstrates consistent excellence in beverage selection or preparation, as well as exceptional atmosphere, hospitality and operations.” Nevertheless, Onyx was the first to employ the classic Italian definition of a bar, i.e. a coffee bar.
They are one of 20 establishments honored with this distinction this year, joining the nationwide list of wineries, breweries and cocktail bars. (And Ayahuasca Cantina, the late-night alter ego of Dallas’ Mexican-focused all-day cafe and coffee bar Xaman Cafe.)
The nominated location is their headquarters inside 1907 (profiled here on Sprudge), which also houses a prix fixe restaurant Heirloom, Mezcaleria and Taqueria YeyoAND Suppliersown Onyx confectionery shop. However, none of them were mentioned in the nomination, nor was 1907 as a whole. It was the Onyx Coffee Lab, which means that a nod of the head attracted the specific part related to the preparation of coffee.
“The nomination was really unexpected, but it had a huge impact,” Onyx co-founder Jon Allen tells Sprudge. “Seeing the talent and commitment of our team and the entire coffee industry recognized on this stage is truly monumental.”
However, it makes sense that Onyx Coffee Lab was the first to break through. They have never hesitated to make their excellence thunderous. They rely entirely on the experiential side of the café and no two are the same. Springdale’s newest cafe is huge, and unlike the Bentonville location, this is their first huge swing at the front of the cafe. Then there’s the very pink The Momentary and Doyenne, a coffee shop that quietly (at least by Onyx standards) only serves coffees produced by women. If someone were to do this, the clever money would be on Onyx.
From the shortlist of 20, five finalists will be announced on March 31street with the awards ceremony taking place on June 15vol in Chicago.
Still, advancing to the semi-finals of a bona fide professional coffee shop is a huge step forward. Onyx doesn’t need to win to push coffee into uncharted territory. It’s already there. And no matter how stupid you think awards are, they are a legitimizing force. And coffee, despite all the steps it has taken in this direction, still has a long way to go to gain the legitimacy of its peers.
