Four Asheville Hospitality Professionals Honored at 2026 Stars of Industry Awards

Four Asheville hospitality professionals were named among 20 statewide honorees at the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association’s 2026 Stars of the Industry Awards, presented in Durham on Feb. 23, 2026. William Dissen, Brenda Durden, Christopher Lovegood and Thomas Barton were recognized across categories that the NCRLA designed to highlight leadership, performance and service in the state’s restaurant and lodging economy.

William Dissen was named Restauranteur of the Year, with one report listing his employer as The Market Place and another referring to it as The Marketplace; one source used the spelling “Restaurateur of the Year.” WLOS identified Dissen as owner and executive chef of The Marketplace in downtown Asheville. Dissen said, “With recession, COVID, and Hurricane Helene, to be here resilient and powering through and through all that to be named Restaurateur of the Year, it's a really special honor for me this year. I know that it's our team that really powers the engine of the restaurant, and I'm eternally grateful to them, but I am also grateful to our community here in Asheville.”

Brenda Durden of Asheville Hotel Group received the Lodging Operator of the Year award. Christopher Lovegood of Parks Hospitality Group was named Restaurant Employee of the Year, and Thomas Barton, also of Parks Hospitality Group, was named Lodging Employee of the Year. In total the NCRLA honored 20 people across 10 categories at the ceremony, a program intended to showcase professionals who help shape North Carolina’s restaurant and tourism economy.

Allen Thomas, president and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association, framed the program’s purpose and scale in a news release: “Our industry is built on people—leaders, teams and innovators who show up every day to serve their communities and create meaningful experiences. The 2026 Stars of the Industry honorees represent the very best of hospitality in North Carolina, and we are proud to recognize their impact, resilience and dedication to moving our industry forward.” The NCRLA represents and advocates for more than 20,000 businesses that employ 9% of the state’s workforce and generate over $35.8 billion in annual sales.

The local awards arrive as Asheville continues to market itself as a national food hub. Citizen‑Times noted that Cúrate Bar de Tapas is celebrating 15 years and that founders Katie Button and Félix Meana have multiple initiatives planned: “Cúrate has a big year ahead of it as its Cúrate Travel brand relaunches, the Cúrate Wine Club expands, the La Bodega event venue grows, and a new Olivar Cúrate olive oil harvest becomes available, as part of the company's 'Adopt an Olive Tree' program to help restore Spain's olive oil industry.” Button is scheduled to appear on the new chef series America’s Culinary Cup, premiering March 4 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS, competing for $1 million, and she is set to release a second cookbook, Spanish Accent, this fall.

ExploreAsheville continues to promote the city as “Foodtopia,” noting recent MICHELIN Guide attention and that since 2010 Asheville chefs and restaurants have garnered 37 James Beard nominations and three national wins, including Cúrate and Chai Pani. Luminosa, led by Executive Chef Graham House and Chef de Cuisine Sean McMullen, was cited for sustainability practices; Michelin inspectors observed that “(Luminosa) works hard to utilize all trim from their kitchen in sustainable ways,” a note tied to the restaurant’s Green Star recognition.

A truncated internal briefing referenced Taste of Asheville and an upcoming West Asheville food fundraiser but stopped short of dates, organizers or locations; those event details were not provided in reporting available for this story. The local honors and national attention together underline Asheville’s continued prominence in North Carolina’s hospitality sector and its role in the state’s broader restaurant economy.