Bar manager at Crave: Kitchen & Cocktails in Rockford wins Bartender of the Year honor at Las Vegas expo
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — Ava Vitale, who runs the bar side of the business at Crave: Kitchen & Cocktails, has been recognized as the Bartender of the Year at a major industry expo in Las Vegas.
Vitale’s honor comes a little over seven months after she and her mother, Angela Vitale, opened Crave at 3801 N. Perryville Road. The Bar & Restaurant Expo brings together more than 13,000 people and Vitale was the only person from Illinois to win one of the eight industry excellence awards.
“It’s really hard to put into words,” Vitale said. “This is a really high honor and I’m so thankful that I got to be there and be in the moment and represent this community.”
The expo took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 23-25, and the 24-year-old Vitale was one of three finalists for Bartender of the Year along with Cesar Valdivia of JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa and Livio Laura of EuroBar in Las Vegas. For an idea of the competition Vitale was up against consider this: Laura was also presenting a workshop on mixology at the conference and went on to win the Best Hospitality Training Program award.
Past winners of the award were often from big cities such as New York and Miami. Last year’s winners came from San Diego, California.
“To see the company I was in was humbling but also really exciting at the same time,” Vitale said.
The winners in each category are picked by a panel of experts from Johnson & Wales University, which is renowned for its culinary arts and hospitality programs. The honorees are intended to represent the “epitome of creativity, dedication and innovation in the hospitality sector.”
“From redefining the guest experience to creating groundbreaking products, these leaders and innovators are setting new standards for success,” Tim McLucas, vice president of the Bar & Restaurant Group at Questex, said in a news release. “We are proud to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the industry.”
Vitale prides herself on a playful yet approachable cocktail menu that invites people to try something new, while also offering classics such as its Screw City Smoked Old Fashioned.
One of the most popular drinks of late is the Psyche, which is made with 21 Seeds hibiscus grapefruit tequila, lime, grapefruit, agave, passionfruit hibiscus tea, coconut, dehydrated rose and a lavender and sea salt rim. That drink won the Stateline Shake-Off in February at Union Event Space.
There’s also seasonal drinks such as the pistachio sour and the blood orange margarita, which comes with a blood orange shrub that Vitale makes from scratch after carefully peeling all the pith off a blood orange.
“Anybody can do a Jack and Coke and pull the cap off of a beer,” said Angela Vitale, who owns Crave and nominated her daughter for the award. “But what she’s doing takes so much knowledge and dedication and creativity.”
Ava Vitale said she’s thankful for her mother “for building a stage for me to be able to experiment and lean in to what I love to do.”
“What I love about my cocktail program is that I’m kind of growing with it,” Ava Vitale said. “If I look back I can see the evolution.”
Crave opened on Aug. 23, 2024, and Angela Vitale said she’s proud to see the restaurant earn recognition in such a short time.
“A year ago, we didn’t even have a restaurant,” Angela Vitale said. “A lot can happen in a year.”
Crave: kitchen & cocktails | Hours and info
Where: 3801 N. Perryville Road, Rockford
Opened: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024
Hours: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Bar is open until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday
Facebook: @crave.rockford
Instagram: @crave.rockford
Website: craverockford.com
Contact: info@craverockford.com
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
