Barmuda Receives 21 Best of the Best Awards

Cedar Falls, IA (November 9, 2007) – Barmuda Corporation, with its family of restaurants, nightclubs, and lounges, won 21 of the Courier’s Best of the Best awards for 2007.

“To take as many awards as we did says a lot about what all of us at Barmuda are trying to do,” Beck says. “We are only as good as our last show or last meal served every day, and we will always be at the mercy of our guests to come back and see us again to remain successful.”

With awards in nine categories Bourbon Street and Voodoo Lounge proved again this year to be one of the Cedar Valley’s favorite restaurants and lounges.

“To be considered one of the best local restaurants probably means the most of all the awards to me, because it sums up how people really feel about a local restaurant,” Darin says. “It speaks volumes about the passion our people have at Bourbon Street.”

Bourbon and Voodoo also took awards in appetizers, place to celebrate an anniversary, place to go on a first date, seafood, steak, girl’s night out, karaoke, and place to shoot pool.

Beck’s Sports Brewery in Waterloo and Beck’s Sports Grill in Cedar Falls received seven awards this year.

Achieving Best Sports Bar for the second time is an accomplishment that means a lot to the venue. “We work hard every day to make sure Beck’s has the best staff, the best food and the best sports atmosphere,” says Beck’s Sports

Brewery General Manager Scott Hirschman. “It’s great that the Cedar Valley has once again chosen Beck’s as the Number One sports bar. It truly is an honor.”

Winning Best Burger for the fifth year in a row is no small feat either. The half-pound Beckster Burger, made with prime ground beef and topped in a variety of ways, is one of the restaurant’s best sellers.

Beck’s also placed in the categories of the best place to shoot pool, place for a business lunch, place to have a beer, best happy hour and best tenderloin.

Soho Sushi Bar & Deli, which opened on Cedar Falls Main Street in 2005, blends New York style deli with California style sushi. The popular cafe received three awards this year, for best place for a business lunch, place for cheap eats and some of the Cedar Valley’s best cookies.

Soho General Manager, Tara Smiley, couldn’t be happier. “I’m so glad to see we are gaining such a great reputation in the area,” Tara says. “We just had our second anniversary in August, so it really means a lot to all of us to be one of the Cedar Valley’s favorites.”

The Stuffed Olive, the martini bar connected to Soho in the lobby of the Black Hawk Hotel, is another young Barmuda property that continues to gain popularity and is truly becoming a favorite among many. Winning awards in the girl’s night out and happy hour categories, this Main Street venue has brought something totally new to the area.

And there is, of course, even more to come. Beck and his staff at Barmuda MMC and in the individual properties strive to remain on the cutting edge of the hospitality industry and to bring only the best dining, drinking and entertainment experiences to the Cedar Valley.

“Barmuda will always strive to bring new and exciting establishments to the dining and entertainment offerings in our community,” Beck says. “Whether it’s spicing up an existing property or opening a whole new concept, Barmuda will be in the forefront of bringing the world’s cuisine and culture to the Cedar Valley.”

###