Chris Ponte inside his latest restaurant project, On Swann. Credit: Meaghan Habuda

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2017 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists Wednesday morning, and get this — the Bay area’s got three.

Columbia Restaurant Group President Richard Gonzmart, the local restaurateur behind Tampa’s Columbia Restaurant, Ulele and Goody Goody, received a semifinalist nod in the Outstanding Restaurateur category.

The two others went to the co-owner chef of Seminole Heights’ Rooster & the Till, Ferrell Alvarez, and Chris Ponte, the owner chef of Clearwater-based Cafe Ponte, who’s also a chef and partner in Hyde Park Village’s On Swann. Both are in the running for Best Chef: South.

On March 15, the Foundation plans to reveal the final nominees in all 21 categories, followed by the winners on May 1 during the annual James Beard Foundation Awards Gala, hosted at Chicago’s Lyric Opera and open to the public.

At last year’s awards gala, Tampa icon Bern’s Steak House took home a James Beard for Outstanding Wine Program. Local James Beard Award semifinalists from years past also include Greg Baker (The Refinery, Fodder & Shine), Jeannie Pierola (Edison: Food + Drink Lab), Joey Redner (Cigar City Brewing) and Chad Johnson (Epicurean Hotel, Haven).