Celebrating the bold leaders shaping the future through the world’s most ground-breaking companies
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) this week announced that Kyle Noonan and Josh Sepkowitz, the owners of FreeRange Concepts, were named Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025 Southwest Award winners. Entrepreneur Of The Year is the preeminent competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. For 40 years, EY US has celebrated ambitious entrepreneurs who are transforming industries, impacting communities and creating long-term value.
Noonan and Sepkowitz were chosen by an independent panel of past winners, top CEOs and business leaders. Judges assessed candidates on long-term value creation, entrepreneurial spirit, purpose-driven commitment and significant growth and impact.
“We are so excited to accept this award because it honors the heart and hustle that defines FreeRange and the incredible people behind it.” said Noonan.
From a restaurant with a bowling alley to an Americana music venue with Southern comfort food, FreeRange Concepts doesn’t just serve up home cooking – it serves experience. The company owns and operates 11 dining venues – including Bowl & Barrel, The Rustic, The General Public, MUTTS Canine Cantina and Joe Leo Fine Tex-Mex – across Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The brand’s continued expansion and emphasis on unique concepts reflect its growing role in shaping Texas’s hospitality landscape.
“This incredible honor belongs to every FreeRange team member who shows up daily to create remarkable memories for our Guests. I am grateful to be on this journey with them.” said Sepkowitz.
As the Southwest award winners, Noonan and Sepkowitz are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 National Awards. The National Award winners, including the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2026.
Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized the leadership of entrepreneurs such as:
- Sheila Mikhail of AskBio
- Caryn Seidman Becker and Ken Cornick of CLEAR
- James Park of Fitbit
- Arthur Blank of The Home Depot
- Kendra Scott of Kendra Scott LLC
- Reed Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn
- Saiju Jeong of Noom
- Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company
- Jodi Berg of Vitamix
- Michael Happe of Winnebago Industries
- Eric Yuan of Zoom
Pioneering fresh ideas in the restaurant industry and with local venues like Bowl & Barrel, Mutts Canine Cantina, The Rustic and The General Public, FreeRange Concepts is led by founders Kyle Noonan and Josh Sepkowitz, who have a combined 20 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. For more information, please visit FreeRangeConcepts.com.