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The College of Human Sciences' Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management will welcome hundreds of guests April 24 at the annual Hospitality Gala. As a signature event in the Auburn community, the Gala puts hospitality centerstage and culminates with recognizing an esteemed honoree known for excellence in the industry.

The 2025 Horst Schulze Award for Excellence in Hospitality honoree is L. Nick Davis ‘84, who is no stranger to the meaning of hard work and a staunch supporter of the College of Human Sciences. Davis serves as president, CEO, CMO and majority shareholder of Momma G’s Inc., the franchisor of Momma Goldberg’s Delis. He serves as president, CEO and sole shareholder of The Davis Companies and currently serves as the chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Human Sciences.

Describing his reaction as “blown away” after initially learning of his selection as this year’s Gala honoree, Davis is proud and humbled that those from the College of Human Sciences see him in that light.

Although not a College of Human Sciences graduate, Davis credited his educational foundation he received in business at Auburn for the many years of success in his career—where he values people and relationships that are critical when it comes to hospitality and the business world.

“My time at Auburn I learned more growing up skills and how to treat people and those types of things,” said Davis. “It wasn’t necessarily direct skills, but more of the ability to learn and how to discern certain situations.”

Known as the key fundraising event for the school and a capstone course for hospitality management students, the Hospitality Gala will be held inside The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Guests will enjoy a reception and formal dinner, while honoring a distinguished alumnus who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, vision and passion in the scientific pursuit of excellence in hospitality.

The 2025 Hospitality Gala will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m,. that will feature distinguished chefs, worldclass wineries and a silent auction. Dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m., taking guests on an exquisite food and wine culinary journey with a live auction and the honoring of Davis.

The featured chefs for 2025 will be Owner and Head Chef of II Falconier Silvia Baracchi, New Realm General Manager Joshua Cain, Corporate Director of Food & Beverage of Noble House Hotels & Resorts Marcus Repp and Corporate Chef of Noble House Hotels & Resorts Adam Votaw. Joining them will be Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management student chefs Mary Flavin and Sophie Snyder and winemakers Angelia Nielsen of Moët Hennessy, Travis Todd of de la boue and Baracchi as previously mentioned.

For Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management students involved with the 2025 planning committee, more than 40 event planners are engaged from start to finish when it comes to planning, organizing and execution of the staging of the Hospitality Gala.

For Davis, he said real-world experiences like this are what make the Hospitality Gala so valuable for College of Human Sciences students.

“Any time you can experience a real-life situation serving 300 or more people such as the Hospitality Gala, it provides a great dose of the real world.”

Nick Davis

“Any time you can experience a real-life situation serving 300 or more people such as the Hospitality Gala, it provides a great dose of the real world,” said Davis. “It’s a big event and it shows how you treat people with hospitality and kindness and putting other people first. Those types of skills are huge.”

Davis became involved in Momma Goldberg’s Delis in 2006 investing in the brand as it started franchising, and in 2009, he purchased the local restaurants eventually becoming a franchisee before purchasing majority ownership in December 2014.

In addition, Davis has given extensively of his time and talents to Auburn; he has served as President of the Tallahassee Auburn Club and has served on the National Auburn University Alumni Association Board of Directors. He is a Foundation Board member and longtime supporter of the Gogue Performing Arts Center, serving as past chair on the engagement council.

"We are overjoyed to honor Nick Davis at this year's Hospitality Gala,” said College of Human Sciences Dean Susan Hubbard. “As a successful businessman and an esteemed leader in hospitality management, Nick has made significant contributions to the industry, the College of Human Sciences and Auburn University as a whole. His dedication, expertise, and commitment to excellence reflect the core values and mission of our college so we are deeply honored to celebrate Nick’s achievements.”

 

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Meet L. Nick Davis, an Auburn man preserving a cult brand

In this edition of the How Very Human Sciences podcast, CEO of Momma Goldberg’s Inc. L. Nick Davis shares his “since birth” passion for Auburn and what it means to be this year’s Hospitality Gala honoree. He also talks about persevering through some difficult days as a college student and how that experience drives him to pay it forward today.

The inaugural Award for Excellence in Hospitality was presented in 2011 to Horst Schulze, founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and The Capella Hotel Group. Presented every other year along with an Outstanding Alumnus award during The Hospitality Gala, the award was subsequently renamed to honor Horst Schulze who is not only an industry icon, but a long-time supporter, partner and friend of the College of Human Sciences.

Davis will now join this prestigious list of honorees that recognizes those who represent the virtues that programs in the College of Human Sciences stand for: enhancing quality of life, environmental stewardship, professional integrity and a commitment to excellence and intellectual discovery.

When reflecting on his career, Davis said one piece of advice he would give to current students would be to stay true to yourself.

“Everyone has their own personal style, and you should use that style and tweak that style and try to make it better,” said Davis. “As you go through life, if you can get your own core values and expand all those and grow those as opposed to trying to emulate and follow someone else’s I think that’s important.”

For more information on the Hospitality Gala and to purchase tickets.

The Hospitality Gala