Welcome from President & CEO

On behalf of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2021 CRAzies Awards Gala. I am honored to share this time with you all, and I’m very excited to once again be doing it in person!

It’s no secret that this year and a half has been an extremely challenging time for the restaurant and hospitality industry. However, despite those hurdles, you all have persevered. While we know the coming year will continue to throw challenges our way, I’m confident that if we stand together, we will be stronger on the other side for having done so. I believe it because I know just how much we were able to accomplish over the past 21 months, even under the most difficult of circumstances.

Together, we have provided more than $500,000 in local restaurants grants through the CT Restaurant Relief Fund, established a $165,000 CT Hospitality Employee Relief Fund to provide stipends to hospitality employees throughout Connecticut, created a COVID-19 operating guidance for all restaurants, expanded outdoor dining options to allow all restaurants the opportunity to use unique outdoor spaces for additional dining options, passed legislation that allows restaurants to sell alcohol-to-go and increased consumer confidence in on-premises dining with a national TV and local #saveCTrestaurants campaign.

Throughout the pandemic, Connecticut Restaurant Association members came together as one voice to advocate for their businesses and livelihood. In the years to come, we will need to continue to move forward as one, and to remind our elected officials that we are a central part of the economic recovery in Connecticut.

I would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support and for making our 2021 CRAzies Awards Gala one that we will never forget. Congratulations to our honorees and good luck to all of our finalists!

Scott Dolch

President & CEO

Connecticut Restaurant Association

CT Hospitality Educational Foundation