Oriental Mart at Pike Place Market receives America’s Classics Award from James Beard Foundation

SEATTLE — Pike Place Market’s Oriental Mart, a Filipino restaurant, is one of six recipients of the 2020 America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Owner Mila Apostol started the business in 1971 to give fellow Filipino immigrants a grocery store.

According to Eater Seattle, Apostol’s daughter Leila Rosas opened a no-menu eatery adjacent to the grocery.

Rosas continues to oversee the restaurant while her sister Joy Mori runs the retail side.

“The America's Classics Award is given to locally-owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community,” the foundation said in a news release. “The America's Classics Award is given to locally-owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.”

Over the course of the week, the James Beard Foundation will reveal two honorees on its Instagram page. All recipients will be honored at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 4.

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