Leadership

Restaurant Business wins 2 Jesse H. Neal awards for excellence in B2B journalism

Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze also took home the prestigious G.D. Crain Jr. award for his contributions to business media over the course of his career.
Jonathan Maze
Maze accepted the G.D. Crain Jr. award during the Neals ceremony Friday. | Photo by Abbey Lewis

The Restaurant Business team on Friday won two awards for its journalism, and editor-in-chief Jonathan Maze was honored for his contributions to business media over the course of his career.

At the 70th annual Jesse H. Neal Awards ceremony in New York hosted by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), RB took the trophy for the Best Range of Work by a Media Brand, the top award overall in the category. RB won the award for the second year in a row.

The publication also won for Best Single Article for Maze’s feature about Dominik Mendoza, a Quiznos franchisee who took his own life.

The Neal Awards celebrate excellence in business-to-business journalism across a wide range of industries. RB this year was a finalist for 11 awards.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the team at Restaurant Business,” Maze said. “It is a great group of talented journalists who work hard every day to tell the real stories about the restaurant industry. I love being part of this newsroom.”

During Friday’s ceremony, Maze was named this year’s recipient of the prestigious G.D. Crain Jr. award, which honors an individual for their contributions to B2B media excellence during their career. 

Maze has been covering the restaurant industry since 2007, when he became a financial writer for Franchise Times. He then spent three years writing about restaurant finance for Nation’s Restaurant News before joining Restaurant Business as executive editor in 2017.

He was promoted to editor-in-chief of the publication in February 2020 and guided its industry coverage during the pandemic. During his tenure, Restaurant Business has produced award-winning packages on evolving kitchens, the impact of the $15 minimum wage and the industry’s battle with substance abuse. It has also won the Neal Award for Best Range of Work by a Media Brand three times. 

Besides leading RB’s coverage, Maze himself has done impactful reporting on Burgerim, Quiznos and Boston Market. And in 2022, his daily restaurant finance column, The Bottom Line, won the Neal Award for Best Commentary/Blog.

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