photo of Chris Williams

Chris Williams

Founder, Lucille’s Hospitality Group/Founder & Exec Dir, Lucille’s 1913
Lucilles

Chris Williams has made a name for himself serving up well-refined Southern food with international
infusions at his nationally-celebrated restaurant Lucille’s, opened as a tribute to his great grandmother
and culinary pioneer Lucille B. Smith. A decade in the making, the namesake restaurant has since
expanded into Lucille’s Hospitality Group — a culmination of concepts that channel the matriarch’s
historic ingenuity.

Williams' most recent endeavor — his non-profit Lucille’s 1913 —functions as the restaurant group’s
conscious community collective, providing more than 1,000,000 meals to Houstonians in need. A 2022
James Beard Award Finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, Williams continues to make a name for himself
as a community builder within the culinary world and beyond. He is a part of Bon Appetit’s inaugural
“Heads of the Table” Awards List; Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2022 Power List; a 2022 United Nations
Global Citizen Awardee; Restaurant Hospitality’s 2021 Rising Star chef class; a Houston Area Urban
League Quentin Mease Community Service Award recipient; and has served as a culinary cultural
ambassador for the USA advancing food diplomacy in destinations like Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Chris Williams
Mar 12, 2023
2:30pm — 3:30pm
Presented by
Edelman Impact
Events featuring Chris Williams
Mar 12, 2023
2:30pm — 3:30pm
Presented by
Edelman Impact