What it means for Connecticut’s restaurant and hospitality scene
By Yvette M. Tavares, Vice President, Sales & Operations, Connecticut Restaurant Association
When Scott Dolch took over as head of the Connecticut Restaurant Association (CRA) in 2018, he used his first months on the job to focus on organizational performance. That work included a deep dive into the CRA’s annual awards—then called Salute to Excellence—which had served to celebrate Connecticut talent. But Dolch recognized it as a source of untapped potential to expand the CRA’s impact, including its ability to lift up and highlight the great work of Connecticut restaurants, caterers and their employees.
With a professional background in branding and events, Dolch first renamed the event the CRAzies, using the CRA acronym and inspiration from Steve Job’s quote, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Now in year five of the CRAzies, an event that once hosted 300 people is set to surpass 1,300 guests. This growth has opened the door to new opportunities, new partners and an expanded voice for our industry. Of course, we’ve experienced some growing pains as well. Every year, we’ve worked to fine-tune our nominations and awards selection process to protect the integrity and value of our event, including releasing an updated overview of that process this year for added transparency.
The CRA knows intimately well how many are deserving of recognition; there are more than 3,600 full-service restaurants in Connecticut and upward of 150,000 people employed in our sector. There are simply so many deserving members in our industry. We know we can never honor all those who deserve it in our industry, but we strive each year to honor as many as we can, in the fairest way possible. So, what does the growth of the CRAzies mean for Connecticut’s restaurant and hospitality scene?
The CRAzies tells the stories of Connecticut’s exceptional talent. Our industry is about incredibly talented people, and our platform now offers a greater ability to spotlight those stories. We’ve seen a huge outpouring of public support, with nearly 5,000 nominations and more than 20,000 votes during the finalist round. Top media publications from across the state highlight stories of our nominees year-round, including Visit CT, who bases its annual best restaurants list on our CRAzies finalists.
The CRAzies makes a statement about our economic relevance. Throughout most of the year, the CRA is not party planning, but fighting legislation that could be harmful to our industry. There is power in numbers, and the CRAzies shows an undeniable force of presence. When elected officials see our industry united as one, it reminds them of our economic importance in communities across the state. This makes a difference when it comes time for them to vote on bills that impact our businesses.
The CRAzies gives us a national platform. We all know when it’s CRAzies season in Connecticut, but that impact is now felt beyond state lines. National media are covering more industry stories in Connecticut than ever before, and we’ve seen more Connecticut talent recognized at premier events like the James Beard Awards. From an advocacy perspective, the National Restaurant Association has recognized Connecticut as one of the most influential state restaurant associations in the country.
The CRAzies helps us grow the association. Even as the CRAzies continues to grow, we never lose touch of our why. As incredible as the awards are, we know it’s about so much more. It’s about bringing our industry together in celebration with the purpose of growing our association. That’s critical because a strong CRA is how we increase our relevance as an industry. Without it, we have no voice.
So, cheers to year five of the CRAzies and all the incredible talent from across the state who make it happen. We hope to celebrate with you on Dec. 4!
Interested in learning more about CRA and member benefits? Simply visit us at ctrestaurant.org.