Tony Messina is the executive chef and partner of UNI, a contemporary izakaya located in Boston. In 2019, Messina won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast. He was a semi-finalist in the same category in 2018. His partner at the restaurant, Ken Oringer, was a semi-finalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category in 2018 and 2019.

Messina grew up in East Boston and began working as a caterer and cook in Boston restaurants when he was fourteen years old. He learned about the restaurant world when he worked as a line cook and head server at Michael Schlow's Alta Strada. In 2009, he attended Cambridge Culinary School.

James Beard Award, Food & Beverage, Chef, Food industry, Food, Food & Wine, Lifestyle Restaurants & Dining, Restaurateurs,