Bright Spot: Grand Rapids chef named James Beard Award semifinalist

GRAND RAPIDS — Nominees for James Beard Awards often include restaurants and people from places like New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Philadelphia and Chicago.

What's not expected is to see Grand Rapids, Minnesota — population 10,869 — make the list. Chef Kyle Lussier was nominated for this year's Emerging Chef award.

Kyle and Amanda Lussier opened The Pines in downtown Grand Rapids in June 2025 after working for five years to make their dream a reality.

Less than a year after opening, The Pines is garnering notice. The James Beard Awards are viewed as the restaurant industry's highest honors. The Pines was also included in the Minnesota Star Tribune's list of top 10 new restaurants in 2025.

In a recent conversation on the KAXE Morning Show, Kyle Lussier described the food at The Pines as "a sort of gentle handshake of some familiar foods and flavors, and then also pairing that with maybe different things or new things ... a different technique or a twist."

Food isn't the only focus in a locally owned restaurant. Amanda Lussier manages the business and creates a welcoming atmosphere.

"There's kind of a restaurant idiom that people go to restaurants to try the food, but they return to restaurants for the service," Kyle Lussier said.

The Lussiers are committed to community involvement and building up other locally owned businesses.

"The more and more friends we have that kind of come out of the woodwork with ideas, we're generally willing to try something," Lussier said.

The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards start with an open call for recommendations from the voting body, general public and members of the restaurant industry. Then, a subcommittee determined the semifinalists.

The top five nominees will be announced on March 31, and the winners will be announced at an award ceremony on June 15.

You can hear the full conversation with Kyle and Amanda above.

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The Bright Spot is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.