With the restaurants Hugo’s, Eventide and Honey Paw, the partners of Big Tree Hospitality have achieved remarkable success. This week we speak with Arlin Smith, Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor about their own stories, winning the 2017 James Beard Award, and what life is like as they expand their business outside of Portland.

The Honey Paw is like no other restaurant I know. The new Portland restaurant’s unique personality completely defies any attempts to group it into traditional restaurant categories or even vague ones like “contemporary American” or “fusion.” Its menu and ambience unapologetically combine a staggering number of elements into a streamlined dining experience while circumventing any kind of identity crisis by keeping the offerings as concise as possible.