Owners and staff at Figaretti's Restaurant celebrate the restaurant's recent James Beard Foundation America's Classics Award. Pictured are, front from left, Nichole Perry, Lyz Bippus and Jaleah Creighton. Back from left are Enzio Figaretti, Michelle Figaretti, Dino Figaretti, Amber Kuzinich, Elaine Hogan and Jacob Kessler. (Photo by Derek Redd)

Figaretti’s Restaurant has been a staple of the Ohio Valley dining community for nearly eight decades. There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of it.

With its latest honor, the rest of the United States will get a chance to learn a lot more about Figaretti’s.

The James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday that the restaurant is a 2026 America’s Classics Award winner. Presented by the Beard Foundation since 1998, the award celebrates, according to its website, “independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal. These institutions reflect local character and cultural traditions and serve as an enduring anchor for their communities by serving delicious food across many years.”

Owner Dino Figaretti said much of that success has come from the hard work the family and everyone who works and has worked at the restaurant has put in since five Figaretti brothers – Frank, Jack, Tony, Mike and Joe – opened it in 1948. He had his nose down, hard at work on the day he received the email from the Beard Foundation informing him of the award, so the magnitude of it didn’t really sink in. But wife Michelle and son Enzio knew right away, with Michelle calling the Beard Awards “the Oscars of the food service industry.”

In a quieter moment, Dino did some research into the award, its importance and what winning it means for the restaurant. Then the reality hit him.

“I didn’t sleep at all,” he said with a smile.

The America’s Classics Award puts Figaretti’s in rarified air. Since the category was born in 1998, there have been 100 restaurants awarded in the ensuing 28 years. The list of winners this year spanned six regions: California, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New York State, Southeast and Southwest. Dino said he had no idea the restaurant was even being considered for the award. The Beard Foundation sends representatives to restaurants throughout the country, never telling the owners they’re coming.

The secret to this type of success, Dino said, is really no secret at all. It’s about being on top of every part of the restaurant.

“It’s not just about the food,” he said. “It’s not just about the location. It’s not just how long you’ve been in business. It’s all of that. So to be successful in this business, you have to have all these entities working for you.”

Then there’s the personal touch as well as the commitment to helping the community. The Beard Foundation specifically mentioned that Dino can be found greeting diners at the door with a handshake and offering them a glass of wine while walking them around the dining area. He admits there are nights he thinks about staying at home and taking a break, but he always ends up at the restaurant.

“It hits you and you say, ‘What about that one couple that always comes in and doesn’t see me tonight?'” Dino said. “And they’re disappointed about it and the next time they go out to eat, they go somewhere else. So you’ve got to be here. And we love it.”

The Figarettis love their Ohio Valley community, too. They long have been sponsors of the Special Olympics. They send food to local soup kitchens and offer discounts to first responders. During the deadly flash floods in Ohio County last June, the restaurant donated hundreds of pounds of pasta to feed folks in flood-stricken areas.

Dino remains a little stunned at Figaretti’s receiving the Beard Foundation’s award. It already has led to new opportunities. He’ll soon be a guest on a podcast hosted by a producer of “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.” Enzio pointed out the Beard Foundation America’s Classics Award announcement was posted on Eater’s catalog of Instagram pages, totalling millions of followers.

But he is quick to point out everyone who has helped Figaretti’s reach the heights it has. He lauds his staff. He credits his father Tony and mother Tina, from whom he bought the restaurant 30 years ago and from whom he learned what being a good restaurateur is about. He also credits his brother Tony, from whom he buys all the restaurant’s sauce, meatballs and other foods.

He also tips his cap to other family-owned restaurants in the Ohio Valley, like Undo’s, Abbey’s Lounge and Generations. He says the food landscape is fantastic for a community of this size, and the restaurants aren’t competitors, but a brotherhood. Dino appreciates the opportunity to represent the restaurants of the Ohio Valley with this award, which will be presented with the other Beard Awards on Monday, June 15, at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

“It’s hard to believe that a small little Italian restaurant like this can win an award like that,” Dino said. “In this type of business, you miss a lot of family things, but when you get an award like this, it makes it all worth it. It gives you the momentum to keep going.”