Chip Wade, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), has been named the 2026 Gold Plate Award winner by IFMA The Food Away from Home Association. Wade received the honor Saturday, May 16, during the 72nd annual Gold & Silver Plate Awards ceremony held in the Great Hall of Chicago's Union Station, where hundreds of food-away-from-home industry leaders gathered to mark the occasion.
The Gold Plate Award represents IFMA's highest recognition for executive leadership in the food-away-from-home sector. USHG, the multi-concept group founded by Danny Meyer, operates some of the most closely watched full-service restaurants in the country and has long been regarded as a benchmark for hospitality-driven restaurant operations — making Wade's selection a signal of the industry's continued reverence for culture-first leadership at a time when operators are navigating persistent labor and cost pressures.
The Gold & Silver Plate Awards have recognized top performers across restaurant and foodservice categories for more than seven decades, drawing nominations that span independent operators, multi-unit chains, and institutional foodservice. This year's ceremony at Union Station underscored the event's stature as one of the premier gathering points on the hospitality industry awards calendar.
Wade's win arrives as USHG continues to be cited as a model for employee culture and guest experience in an era when retaining both talent and loyal diners has become increasingly complex. IFMA's recognition of a full-service, multi-concept group leader reflects broader industry attention to the human-centered operational philosophies that distinguish enduring restaurant brands from transient ones. For more coverage of leadership and business trends shaping the sector, Food & Beverage Magazine tracks developments across the full food-and-drink landscape.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
