After being named one of the 50 best restaurants in America in 2025 by the New York Times in September, Traverse City's Modern Bird has achieved another culinary feat. Husband-and-wife co-owners and chefs Andy Elliott and Emily Stewart have been named semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Awards.

The duo, who opened their restaurant on West Front Street in 2022, were announced Wednesday in the "Best Chef" category in the Great Lakes region, which covers Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Other Michigan chefs to make the cut this year include Javier Bardauil of BARDA in Detroit, James Galbraith of PostBoy in New Buffalo, and John Yelinek of Ladder 4 Wine Bar in Detroit. In other categories, Echelon Kitchen & Bar in Ann Arbor is a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant and Bar Chenin in Detroit is a semifinalist for Best New Bar. 

Elliott, who spoke to The Ticker from the restaurant Wednesday morning as congratulatory texts were starting to flow in, called the nomination a "great surprise." Coming on the heels of the New York Times recognition, Elliott joked that "everyone thinks we have great PR, but you're very much talking to the PR." He credits a combination of Traverse City's rising recognition for its culinary scene and his team's hard work for making the James Beard semifinalists list.

"We talk in pre-shift all the time about trying to be one percent better every day," he says. "It's really nice to get recognition for all the hard work we and our team do. You hope for these things to happen, but you definitely don't expect them to. I'm very grateful. It doesn't change our day-to-day, though -  we're not going to stop trying to get better."

Modern Bird joins an elite group of Traverse City restaurants that have made it to the James Beard Awards nomination list. Trattoria Stella executive chef and partner Myles Anton was previously a five-time nominee in the Great Lakes category, while The Cooks' House chefs and co-owners Jen Blakeslee and Eric Patterson were named finalists for the 2025 James Beard Awards. Finalists for 2026 will be announced on March 31, and winners will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

For those looking to check out Modern Bird, a handful of reservations remain open for Traverse City Restaurant Week (Feb 22-28) in addition to other dates through the restaurant's website.