This distinguished award is decided on by public votes!

Please read their pitch on why they are "Uniquely Austin" on the next page and vote for your favorite. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order.

AWFF isn't just an organization that happens to operate in Austin – we were born here, in the 1980s, by a small group of local wine enthusiasts who wanted to build something for their community. Forty years later, that same spirit drives everything we do: we are Austin's wine and food foundation, not a chapter of something bigger or a transplant from somewhere else.

What makes us uniquely Austin is the balance we strike between elevated and approachable. We host events at some of the city's most iconic landmarks, and our own new home in Brentwood, but at our core, we believe wine is for everyone. That's a distinctly Austin ethos: sophistication without pretension, expertise without gatekeeping.

We're also uniquely Austin in who we serve and who we lift up. We actively seek out new and emerging talent in the local food and beverage scene, giving them a platform alongside the city's most established names, because we know Austin's food and wine identity is still being written. And when we give back, we give back here: every dollar of our philanthropic support, whether through hospitality scholarships or grants to organizations fighting food insecurity, stays in Central Texas, supporting the people and organizations that make this city's hospitality community what it is.

Ultimately, we exist to help keep Austin on the map as a standout food and wine city, not by importing prestige from elsewhere, but by investing in what's already here: the people, the talent, the neighborhoods, and the culture that make Austin worth celebrating.

Mozart’s is “Uniquely Austin” because it has become more than a business in Austin, it has become part of the city’s story. For more than three decades, people have made Mozart’s part of their own stories and traditions. That history is difficult to manufacture, and it is one of the things that sets us apart.

What makes Mozart’s special is the combination of things that exist under one roof and in one place. We are a coffee roaster, bakery, gathering place, music venue, event space, and destination on Lake Austin. Each piece is meaningful on its own, but together they create something that feels unmistakably Austin.

We have also grown alongside the city without losing the character that brought people here in the first place. Austin has changed tremendously since Mozart’s opened in 1993, but there is still something wonderfully unpretentious about sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee, watching the boats go by, listening to a musician, and realizing you have been there for two hours because you simply don't want to leave. That feeling is hard to replicate.

Mozart’s represents the idea that a business can be successful without losing its sense of place. We haven't tried to recreate ourselves in every city or become a cookie-cutter concept. Mozart’s belongs on Lake Austin, and the experience would not be the same anywhere else.

After 33 years, we have something that cannot simply be copied: generations of memories. Someone may remember studying here in college, bringing their children to the Festival of Lights, meeting a friend for coffee, hearing their favorite musician on the deck, or discovering Mozart’s for the first time while visiting Austin. Those individual memories have become part of the larger story of the business.

That is what makes Mozart’s “Uniquely Austin.” It isn't one product, one event, or one view of the lake. It is the fact that Mozart’s has created a place where Austin’s past, present, and future can all exist together, and where people can continue adding their own stories to it.

Austin literally grew up around Peter Pan Mini-Golf! Locally owned and continuously operated by the Dismukes family since its founding in 1948, Peter Pan Mini-Golf remains a fixture on Barton Springs Rd. For decades, folks have walked up those familiar and well-worn steps. And once they reach the top of the hill? They step back to a simpler time. They relive childhood memories. They may join in some friendly (and possibly cutthroat?) competition with friends. Or perhaps they discover for the first time the simplicity and joy of old school mini-golf. The experience people have at Peter Pan today is the same that Austinites have enjoyed for generations. Austinites have come to love Peter Pan as a favorite spot for birthday celebrations, family outings, corporate team building, and social events. Countless first dates and quite a few marriage proposals have happened on these grounds. Family traditions and memories made at Peter Pan are passed down from one generation to the next. They played here as kids. Now they come back with their own kids and grandkids. As Austin has grown and changed around us, Peter Pan has remained a constant on the Austin landscape.

Peter Pan has become known to Austinites for its quintessential, laid-back "uniquely Austin" quirk and charm. In fact, some might say Peter Pan was keeping Austin weird long before that phrase was even coined. And can you think of any other large city in America in which a humble little miniature golf course could continue to thrive in the shadow of downtown, even as it is surrounded by the city's explosive growth? Only in Austin.

Austinites love Peter Pan and they love bringing their out-of-town guests out to play. When they do, they are guaranteed an experience that is as wonderful and unique as Austin itself. Simply put, people love to step back and remember a time when life was simpler and Austin was perhaps a bit weirder. The family owners report that they often hear statements like, "I'm so glad y'all are still here. Never change." And the reply is always the same, "We haven't. And we won't."

Yellow Ranger was conceived in an effort to preserve Austin's famous "weirdness" in its food and hospitality sector. As the city has grown up and evolved into a national hub with more refined offerings, many natives and longtime locals have felt this organic authenticity and playfulness ebb. Yellow Ranger believes there remains a hunger for original, imaginative, and surprising locally owned/operated businesses. Yellow Ranger has established itself as not just another bar and restaurant, but a safe space for artists, musicians, and creatives of all walks.

The Austin that we know and love is a haven for working creatives, risk-takers, innovators, activists, and dreamers. We want to preserve that culture as Austin continues to grow and evolve. Yellow Ranger does not bend to the transplants, providing goods and services that are "safe" or guaranteed to sell well. Instead we present our bold vision of what Austin is to us. We want all newcomers to the city to feel the gritty, DIY passion for craft and artistry that made Austin so special for many years. We believe that this passion is an essential part of the city's identity that cannot be watered down or stripped away.

Yellow Ranger is a fiercely independent, bootstrapping small business. We have no investors, corporate backing, or generational wealth. We are a collective of highly experienced chefs who have cut their teeth in Austin's best restaurants for decades. We had a crazy idea and brought it to life through sheer brute effort and dedication. Yellow Ranger is a labor of love for our community, a sacrifice of blood, sweat, and tears in an effort to provide Austin with a weird little place to gather and make positive memories.