OLDENBURG, Ind. — A small-town Indiana restaurant, recently recognized as the best “hole in the wall” restaurant serving fried chicken in the Hoosier state, has won one of the most prestigious prizes in the country: a James Beard award.
Wagner’s Village Inn is located at 22171 Main Street in Oldenburg — a town boasting a population of only 639 people. While Wagner’s may not look like much on the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts. And served in this modest kitchen is the best fried chicken in the Great Lakes Region.
Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the 2023 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics Award winners.
Or, better yet, go try it for yourself.
“The elements of the fried chicken at Wagner’s are as unpretentious as the wood-paneled dining room: chicken, salt, pepper, flour, lard,” the James Beard Foundation wrote.
Wagner’s Village Inn joins truly rarefied air by winning a James Beard award. Since the America’s Classics Award was introduced in 1998 by the James Beard Foundation, more than 100 restaurants across the breadth of the country have been honored with this award.
Wagner’s Village Inn is the latest to join these ranks and will be celebrated at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
