Kevin Boehm

Kevin Boehm (born December 21, 1970) is the co-founder and co-owner of Boka Restaurant Group, a restaurant group based in Chicago, Illinois.
Early life and education
Boehm was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. In 1991, Boehm left the University of Illinois and to open his first restaurant in 1992, the Lazy Daze Café, in Seaside, Florida. Indigo Wine Bar (Blue Mountain Beach, Florida), Indigo Restaurant (Springfield, Illinois), and Six Degrees (Nashville, Tennessee) followed, all before the age of 30.
Career
In 2002, Boehm founded Boka Restaurant Group with fellow restaurateur, Rob Katz. Their first restaurant, BOKA, opened in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago in 2003.
Boka Restaurant Group has since opened 13 other restaurants in Chicago including, Balena, Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat, Swift & Sons, Cold Storage, GT Fish & Oyster, GT Prime, The J. Parker, Elaine’s Coffee Call, Momotaro, Izakaya at Momotaro, and Boka Catering Group.
The group will be opening three restaurants in 2017, with plans for additional properties in 2018. Boka Restaurant Group has six chef partners—Stephanie Izard, Lee Wolen, Chris Pandel, Giuseppe Tentori, Mark Hellyar, and Jimmy Papadopoulos—and they aim for each of their concepts to be crafted individually and conceptually unique.
Awards
Boehm and Boka Restaurant Group have been nominated for and won a combined 12 James Beard Foundation Awards since 2013.
Other awards include:
* 2017 James Beard Foundation Restaurateur of the Year Award - Finalist
* 2016 James Beard Foundation Restaurateur of the Year Award - Finalist
* 2016 - 2010 Michelin-Starred Restaurant (BOKA)
* 2015 James Beard Foundation Restaurateur of the Year Award - Semi-Finalist
* 2017 James Beard Foundation Best Restaurant Service - Semi-Finalist
* 2014 Jean Banchet Best Restaurant Award Winner
* 2014 Esquire Magazine Best New Restaurants
* 2011 Chicago Tribune Restaurateur of the Year Award Winner
* 2011 Eater National Empire Builders of the Year Award Winner
* 2011, 2008, 2007 Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chefs in America
* 2010 TimeOut Chicago Restaurateur of the Year Award Winner
Personal life
Boehm has been a featured speaker at the National Restaurant Show, Miami Food & Wine, MUFSO, keynote speaker at the Asheville Independent Restaurant Show, and has given the commencement address at a Culinary Institute of America graduation in New York.
He is an occasional columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times Splash, and was named “40 Under 40” in Crains in 2010. He co-produces the Gold Coast Film Festival, which was started in 2004, and sat on the board of Trustees for the Hope Institute for 7 years. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Easter Seals and 826 CHI. Kevin lives in Chicago with his wife and 3 children.

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