Vineyard Restaurant Named Semifinalist for James Beard Award

State Road restaurant is a semifinalist in the James Beard Foundation Awards, which many have coined the Oscars of the food world. 

The West Tisbury staple is one of 20 restaurants across the country that could win the hospitality award, the foundation announced this week.

Mary Kenworth, who owns State Road with her husband Jackson Kenworth, was sitting at her desk in the restaurant Wednesday when she started getting texts from people congratulating the couple. She then saw the news and ran to tell the kitchen staff.

“Everybody’s just over the moon,” Ms. Kenworth said. 

The James Beard Foundation was founded in 1986 to honor its namesake, a celebrated cookbook author and teacher. It launched several of the country’s chefs into the limelight, including Bobby Flay, who won the rising star award before becoming one of Food Network’s main television personalities.

State Road opened on the Vineyard in 2009. The restaurant stays open year round, with the exception of a break from late February to mid-March. Staff serve farm-to-table fare that draws in everyone from locals to high-profile diners such as the Obama family.

At State Road, Chef Jonathan Warnock cooks a scratch-made menu that changes with the seasons. The restaurant sources its food from regional farmers and fishermen, and grows its own herbs, fruit and vegetables in gardens outside. Thursday burger nights draw crowds.

The Kenworths have had a strong culinary presence on the Vineyard over the years. They also own Beach Road, State Road restaurant’s maritime counterpart, with views of Lagoon Pond in Vineyard Haven. 

The couple opened Sweet Life Cafe in 1996 and led the Oak Bluffs restaurant before selling it in 2017. They also owned Slice of Life, a casual Oak Bluffs year-round restaurant they sold to their chef, which eventually closed in 2009. 

Ms. Kenworth was excited about being a semifinalist in the hospitality category specifically, because she felt it honored the whole staff. 

“It’s everything that all the talented, dedicated people that work here do in every department,” Ms. Kenworth said. 

Hospitality at State Road stems from its connectedness to the community, she said. 

Ms. Kenworth said staff remember guest’s names and their dietary restrictions. She said the kitchen staff will meet almost any request, and the menu is also designed to accommodate people with alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne affliction that has given many Vineyard residents an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products. 

“They’re aware and alert and invested and it shows,” Ms. Kenworth said. 

Staff have even helped guests jump-start their car, she said. 

“It’s really about the crew and team that works here, from the chef to the manager and all the ambassadors below them,” Ms. Kenworth said. 

The James Beard Foundation will announce the finalists in March, who will then attend a Gala ceremony in Chicago on June 15, where the winners will be announced.

This article appears in January 30, 2026.