GAACC Business Awards
Each year during the Ovation gala, the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce recognizes outstanding enterprises and individuals from our Central Texas community. These awards signify excellence in business, community engagement, and cultural visibility.
Nominations for the 2026 GAACC Business Awards are closed. Winners will be announced at the GAACC Ovation Gala on December 5th
Community voting for the 2026 GAACC Hospitality and Culture Award is open now!
2026 GAACC Business Awards Nominees
These deserving individuals, companies, and organizations were nominated by our community over a one-month period during the
Fall of 2026.
With the exception of the Hospitality & Culture Award, winners are selected by the Ovation Gala Planning Committee. All awardees will be recognized at the Ovation Gala on December 5th, 2026.
Community Organization or
Community Leader of the Year
This award recognizes a non-profit organization, individual, or community leader who has made significant contributions to serving or supporting the Asian community.
2026 Nominees
Entrepreneur of the Year
This award recognizes an individual of Asian descent who exemplifies entrepreneurial spirit through their business innovations, collaborations and partnerships with others, and leadership in their respective industry.
2026 Nominees
Emerging Business of the Year
This award goes to a business that is at least 51% APA-owned or led, has been in business for five years or less, and has high growth and potential for continued success and job creation.
2026 Nominees
Business of the Year
This award is intended to recognize a business that is at least 51% APA-owned or led, has been in business for more than five years, and has achieved growth and success with a legacy for emulation.
2026 Nominees
Hospitality & Culture Award
This award honors Asian-owned businesses or individuals who go beyond providing excellent service by actively enriching Austin’s cultural fabric. Recipients demonstrate exceptional hospitality and a passion for creating welcoming spaces and/or through their efforts, they contribute meaningfully to the city’s vibrant identity through cuisine, music, art, film, etc.
THE WINNER OF THIS AWARD IS SELECTED THROUGH A COMMUNITY VOTE.
THE VOTING WINDOW CLOSES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2026 AT 5 PM.
2026 Nominees
From the nomination:
"More than just a grocery store, Asahi Imports serves as a place where people can discover Japanese cuisine, explore new flavors, reconnect with familiar traditions, and learn about a culture that enriches Austin’s diversity.
Through its selection of authentic Japanese groceries, specialty foods, and cultural products, Asahi Imports makes Japanese culture more accessible to the local community. The store also creates opportunities for cultural exchange through food demonstrations, tastings, seasonal celebrations, and community events that invite customers to experience Japanese traditions firsthand.
As Austin continues to grow as a culturally diverse city, Asahi Imports plays a meaningful role in preserving and celebrating Japanese culture while welcoming people of all backgrounds.""
AUSTIN FILIPINO CULTURAL DANCE TROUPE
From the nomination:
"AFCDT is an intergenerational, community-based dance troupe dedicated to preserving and sharing Filipino heritage through traditional dance, music, cultural education, and community engagement. Our dancers range from children to adults and come from diverse backgrounds.
Beyond performances, AFCDT actively brings Filipino culture into the community through cultural dance workshops, school programs, multicultural festivals, and interactive demonstrations. We work with schools and community organizations to introduce children and families to Filipino traditions such as Tinikling, Cariñosa, and traditional Filipino games.
In a city as diverse as Austin, we believe cultural hospitality means making room for everyone at the table—and sometimes, on the dance floor. AFCDT proudly shares Filipino culture while welcoming the broader Austin community to participate, learn, and celebrate with us."
From the nomination:
"Kimmi Black and her sister, Sue Duong, have built a family-run business where people can spend time together, rather than just pick up a coffee and leave. Their original café on East Oltorf has served South Austin for more than a decade. It offers coffee, breakfast, lunch, and space for people to work or meet. They’ve since expanded into the Austin Central Library, bringing an independent, Vietnamese-American-owned café to a downtown location used by residents and visitors. .
Both locations make room for the everyday interactions that matter in a city: meeting a friend, sharing lunch, or spending an afternoon together. Kimmi and Sue have made their contribution to Austin through years of running a welcoming local business. Café Crème gives Asian-American family ownership a visible place."
From the nomination:
"Chúng Mình centers + celebrates the diaspora through community-building & mutual aid.
Their recent and upcoming projects focus on food access and community resilience. In 2025, Chúng Mình Collective raised $3,000 for mutual aid through their Inaugural Cultural Cookbook ""Nourished"" Launch at Future Front. Nourished is a cookbook featuring recipes from Asian/Asian-American cultures, including those passed down through families."
From the nomination:
"Dam coffee bar, owned by Anh Bao, had a dream to bring Vietnamese culture to life by bringing everyone together and celebrating each other. Dam coffee bar also has so many events throughout the year. Anh Bao makes it his mission to bring the AAPI Community together and that is why Dam Coffee Bar is so special. It invites everyone in with open arms and helps a create an amazing atmosphere that no other coffee shop can.
Anh Bao makes Dam Coffee Bar feel vibrant and so full of joy and especially the baristas that work there too. The atmosphere they have all created shows how much dedication and love they have for Dam Coffee Bar. It’s not just your ordinary Coffee shop. It’s a Coffee Shop where friends can chat together, co-work together and where memories are made every single hour of each day. Dam Coffee Bar is a special place that Anh Bao has poured his heart and soul into."
From the nomination:
"Mahjong Mafia is the only Chinese Mahjong club in Austin & Central Texas. They provide their services for FREE to ANYONE that wants to learn how to play or learn how to play Chinese mahjong. They do this with volunteers & the entire club is self-funded. The club is the funnest 4 hours you will spend and the connections you make at one of their events is priceless.
The club is providing a service to the community that should not be overlooked. They have been featured in numerous news outlets & newspapers. They deserve all the flowers. Not only that they host all of their meetups at asian owned businesses highlighting that particular business to help drive in business to their establishment."
From the nomination:
"Nagavalli Medicharla is an Indian American singer, composer, producer, cultural entrepreneur, and civic leader who enriches Austin’s cultural landscape through music, cross-cultural collaboration, and advocacy. By bringing Indian musical traditions into conversation with contemporary American music and multidisciplinary performance, she creates meaningful connections across communities while expanding visibility and opportunities for Asian American and historically underrepresented artists.
Born and raised in Mumbai, Nagavalli developed “Eastern Soul”, a distinctive musical style blending Indian classical and spiritual influences with contemporary pop, rock, soul, electronic music, and trance. Her albums, Eastern Soul, Immersion, and Numinosum, reflect her commitment to honoring her heritage while pushing creative boundaries. Her music has been featured and broadcast by PRX The World, KUTX, KAZI, KOOP, KLBJ, CBS Austin, and numerous other media and radio outlets, extending her reach to audiences across Austin and beyond.
Nagavalli makes cultural hospitality an active practice. Through her music, she builds bridges between traditions and audiences. Through her productions, she creates welcoming spaces for cultural exchange and platforms for Asian American artists. Through her civic leadership, she works to make Austin’s creative ecosystem more inclusive and sustainable."
From the nomination:
"Navrus School of Performing Arts contributes to Austin’s culture of hospitality by creating spaces where Asian and Asian-American culture is not simply presented, but shared, experienced, and used to bring people together.
Founded as an Indian dance school, Navrus has grown into a community-centered cultural organization that uses dance, performance, festivals, storytelling, and public programming to make South Asian culture accessible to people of many backgrounds. Through Bollywood, Indian folk, semi-classical dance, cultural storytelling, and community celebrations, Navrus gives children and adults an opportunity to remain connected to their heritage while inviting the wider Austin community to experience and participate in that culture alongside them.
Community partnership is equally important to our definition of hospitality. Navrus has a longstanding connection with SAIVA, a nonprofit serving South Asian older adults and strengthening community well-being and belonging. Our work together has created intergenerational opportunities where seniors, children, families, performers, and volunteers participate in the same community spaces. Before COVID, Navrus also partnered with SAIVA on gentle dance-movement programming for adults 60+, and SAIVA community members have participated in cultural events through volunteering, cultural demonstrations, advisory roles, and community engagement.
Hospitality, for Navrus, means making people feel that they belong. It may be an immigrant seeing a familiar tradition celebrated publicly, a second-generation child developing pride in their heritage, a senior finding community and purpose, a woman finding confidence through movement, or an Austin resident experiencing Indian culture for the first time.
Navrus represents an Asian-American identity that is both rooted and evolving: proud of where we come from, deeply connected to where we live, and willing to open the doors wider. Our goal is not simply to preserve culture, but to use culture to build relationships — creating an Austin where different communities do not merely coexist, but see one another, participate in one another’s celebrations, collaborate, and feel genuinely welcome."
From the nomination:
"As a first generation Asian mom, raising a multi-racial daughter in Austin, Spark Collection's bilingual books and toys are a god-send. Beautifully illustrated, educational and functional, both her books and toys have helped to spark the love of Asian culture and language in my child. Her Kimchi plushies are one of a kind, and her bubble tea drink carriers are both cute, cultural and extremely handy, especially for a mom carrying too many things!
She also does story telling at various Asian cultural events, helping to pass down stories and a love of Asian culture. She also recently spoke at a GAACC Women's Club luncheon, inspiring the next generation of writers and book authors."
From the nomination:
"Founded in 1991 by Paul Chen and the Austin Chinese Society, Texas Capital News is Austin's longest-running Chinese-language publication, with more than 400 issues published over 35 years.
For three and a half decades, TCN has been a trusted voice for the Chinese and broader Asian American community in Central Texas, telling the stories of local founders, business owners, artists, and civic leaders, covering community events, and connecting readers with city leaders through interviews like our 2018 conversation with Mayor Steve Adler.
Since 2016, TCN has expanded into digital through its website and WeChat, reaching new generations of readers. To mark our 35th anniversary, we are launching "35 Years, 35 Voices," a series celebrating and preserving the stories of the people who built Austin's Asian American community."
2025 GAACC Business Awards
Congratulations to our
2025 GAACC Business Awards honorees!
Community Organization of the Year
Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI)
Entrepreneur of the Year
Cristina Imperial Carl
Hospitality & Culture Award
Joi Conti Photography, LLC / TAYO NA
Emerging Business of the Year
Town Square North West Austin
Business of the Year
Firefly Aerospace
Excellence Award
Anh Selissen
Community Impact Awards
Thanh "Tommy" Hodinh
Ovation 2026 Sponsors
These generous Ovation event partners help the Chamber in way that go far beyond one magical night in December. Their support makes it possible for the GAACC to create and deliver programs in support of the AAPI business community in Central Texas throughout the year.
THANK YOU!
Sponsorship opportunities for Ovation Gala 2026: Legacy & Lights are available now.
CELESTIAL SPONSOR
(PRESENTING SPONSOR)
SILK LANTERN SPONSOR
(COCKTAIL RECEPTION)
SPICE ROUTE SPONSORS
EVENT PRODUCTION PARTNERS
The Ovation Gala is 100% produced by small, local businesses.
"LEGACY & LIGHTS" DETAILS
When
Saturday, December 5, 2026 | 5-10 pm
Where
Hyatt Regency Austin
Attire
Come dressed to impress! As always, black tie, cocktail wear, or traditional Asian attire are welcome!
Light and illumination-inspired attire, accessories, or other fashion elements are encouraged. Have fun expressing your vision of what it means to honor our community's legacy while celebrating our up-and-coming lights!