The 3rd Annual GRACE Awards:
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Karen Bremer

When you've risen through the ranks of one of the United States' most successful restaurant groups until you've become the president, what do you do as an encore? For Karen Bremer, former president of Atlanta's Peasant Restaurants and Mick's Restaurants, the answer was to become an owner. In October of 2000, she assumed ownership of two of the most popular Peasant Restaurants, Dailey's and City Grill, and began her own Atlanta-based company, Great Hospitality, LLC.

In 1984 Bremer joined the Atlanta Dining Group. Previously, she worked as a Regional Training Supervisor and General Manager for WR Grace Restaurant Company in California. During her time at Atlanta Dining Group, Bremer served as the general manager of Dailey's and Winfield's, as the area manager for the company's White Linen division, and as regional manager for Mick's Restaurants.

In 1998 Bremer assumed the presidency of the Peasant Restaurant Division of the Atlanta Dining Group, thus becoming the chief officer in a $26 million, multi-unit, high visibility city-wide operation.

After serving as president for nearly three years, Bremer bought two of the Peasant Restaurants and began her own hospitality company, with Dailey's and City Grill as its flagship establishments.

Bremer is past president of the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA), treasurer of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association (GHTA) and was appointed in May 2002 to serve on the board of directors of the National Restaurant Association. She is on the board of directors of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors' Bureau (ACVB) and a member of the executive board of the TEAM Georgia. She most recently served on the board of directors for Rewards Network Inc. (AMEX:IRN) which is the leading provider of dining awards and loyalty programs across North America. Bremer is one of only two women to be named Food Service Industry Leader of the Year (1997) by GHTA. In 2002 Bremer was named Member of the Year by ACVB, for her role in founding Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week. In 2008 Bremer was nominated for Restaurateur of the year by the Georgia Restaurant Association.

Since 1981, Dailey's had occupied a two-story renovated warehouse in downtown Atlanta. The landmark restaurant served creative American cuisine. City Grill opened in 1989 in the Hurt Building space originally occupied by the South East Federal Reserve Bank, now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Opulence and grandeur surrounded diners there as they enjoyed City Grill’s American food straight up with a twist.

In June 2009 Dailey's and City Grill Restaurants were closed due to the severe economic downturn affecting Downtown Atlanta and the economy in general. Bremer will remain the hospitality industry and looks forward to exciting and new challenges ahead.