The Thomasville steakhouse that will soon open a location in Andalusia was named the winner of the 2016 Alabama’s Best Steak contest yesterday.

Big Mike’s Steakhouse of Thomasville won the annual contest sponsored by the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association.

The Alabama’s Best Steak contest kicked off July 18 with a nominations round that generated votes for more than 140 Alabama restaurants. The eight most-represented restaurants moved on to compete in the “Elite 8” Facebook photo challenge where fans “reacted” to their favorite restaurant’s ribeye steak picture. After a week of fiery Facebook competition, four restaurants with the most “reactions” moved forward in the contest.

The four finalists were Rock House Eatery, Guntersville; Bull Pen Steakhouse, Oakman; Diamond Jim’s and Mrs. Donna’s, Livingston; and Big Mike’s Steakhouse, Thomasville.

Finalist restaurants were then visited anonymously by a panel of industry judges during the month of September. Their ribeye steaks were judged on overall taste, tenderness and juiciness. Additionally, this year’s contest took into the scoring process each finalist’s percentage increase of beef sales during the month of September. Big Mike’s ribeye steak was served 1,773 times in September.

Big Mike’s Steakhouse owners will receive a plaque presentation and media conference from the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, bragging rights for one year and an influx of customers looking to try Alabama’s best ribeye steak. It is also a featured restaurant on this year’s Alabama Steak Trail (#ALSteakTrail), which is being promoted throughout October Beef Month.