According to a report in Nation’s Restaurant News, “Nation’s Restaurant News has selected five innovative young restaurant chains, including a tart frozen yogurt shop, an airport wine bar and an authentic Neapolitan pizza concept, as the winners of its 15th annual Hot Concepts! Awards.

This year’s winners are The Lazy Dog Café, Red Mango USA, Smashburger, Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria and Vino Volo. The 2009 Hot Concepts Awards will be presented during NRN’s 50th Anniversary Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference to be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas from Oct. 4-6.

The winning concepts will be featured on Sunday, Oct. 4, during the “A Taste of What’s Hot” Hot Concepts! Celebration Reception, followed the next morning by an interactive panel discussion among the creators of these new concepts. The panel will be moderated by the founding editor of Fast Company magazine, William C. Taylor. The Hot Concepts! Awards program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.”