The Best of Athens 2011 – Commerce

Best of Athens Readers' Choice Awards for the category of COMMERCE.

Best local advertising campaign
Avalanche Pizza

Flip open an issue of The Athens NEWS, and you’re likely to see a quirky Avalanche Pizza ad that’s anything but traditional. In fact, each one’s a little hard to ignore. We’re betting that’s why the local specialty pizza place nabbed Best Local Advertising Campaign by a long-shot.

Earning second place was local winery BellaVino, followed by Tony’s Tavern.

Others commended for their advertising campaigns – in descending order – include Hungry Howie’s bus, Larry’s Dawg House Weenie Wednesday, Dave Rave marketing, 30 Mile Meal Project, Tony’s, The Athens NEWS (thanks, folks!), Blackburn Home Furnishings, Conrath Realty, Holzer Health System, Seaman’s Super Market, Stop N Cop and Zonez.

Best local carryout
BellaVino

So you want premium beverages at choice prices with service that leaves you feeling as special as the guy who hit the winning three-pointer in the big game? Go to BellaVino, this year’s pick for best local carryout.

This place is pretty radical and definitely worth checking out in the search for spirituous libations and all the good things in life.

Meanwhile, Lucky Dog Carryout comes in second as best local carryout. Lucky Dog looks like it doesn’t have much time left as Kroger is reportedly poised to take over as the area’s state liquor agency. Nevertheless, this place has one of the best selections and some of the best customer service around. Ask for Nate Dawg. You’ll have such a good time checking out that you’ll want to crack open your malt beverage right there in the store and have Nate regale you with his infinite wisdom all night long.

In third this year is Stop N Cop Carryout. When you’re looking to stop and then cop and then carry whatever you’ve copped out, you really can’t pick a better place than this.

Honorable mention in this category goes to Happy Cat.

Best new business
Fluff Bakery and Catering

We don’t want this to be a fluff piece, but Fluff Bakery and Catering has been voted best new business in Athens this year. Fluff apparently has the right stuff. Fluff tells us that life is fun, so eat it up. And with the new establishment so close to The Athens NEWS offices, we’ve had plenty of opportunity to check out their stellar selection.

Coming in second it GG’s Bubble Tea on Court Street. Readers are bubbling over with praise for the new joint, which is making a name for itself selling this crazy-good Taiwanese tea drink. They’ve got tons of flavors and a nice atmosphere to spend an afternoon. This is a Bubble Tea Party we can get behind.

In third is the PDQ Carryout on the Square in Nelsonville. This place is rocking and convenient and is shaking things up in Nelsonville like… um, a shake weight.

Honorable mentions go to Court Street Coffee, Gran Ranchero (which has the best hostess in town) and Shagbark Seed & Mill Co.

Best Place to Find Hard-to-Find Items
C&E Stores

Whether you’re in search of the lost chord, the Holy Grail, or that damned elusive Pimpernel, our readers say the first place you should look is in one of Athens’ C&E stores. You can take your pick of the grocery or the hardware vendor, though in past years, it’s been the latter that has pretty much owned this category lock, stock and widget. We’re almost sure we spotted the entire Lost Colony of Roanoke in there the other day, buying snow shovels.

Second place goes to Athens Underground, that subterranean wonderland of exotic vintage clothes, obscure books, eclectic albums, and so much more.

Coming in third is Wal-Mart, which reportedly carries every consumer item known to man, and quite a few known only to woman and child.

Honorable mentions go to New to You Thrift Store (where the well-dressed journalist stocks his impeccable wardrobe) and the Import House.

Best Store Athens Needs
Target

What does this category even mean, for crying out loud? Why can’t we just say, “Store most needed in Athens”? The way it’s worded here, it sounds like we’re asking our readers to tell us which is the best store among the stores that we happen to need, so that even if we needed, let’s say, a Piggly Wiggly a whole lot more than we needed, for example, a Frederick’s of Hollywood, you would have to vote for Frederick’s if you thought it was the better store, even though in the grand scheme of things, groceries are probably much more important than see-through teddies and lady-pirate costumes with crotchless panties. Our winner, by the way, is Target, which wins this category year after year, but never, ever comes to Athens. Don’t these Target people do any market research?

Second place goes to Trader Joe’s, which like Target always does well in this category, and also like Target, remains notable by its continued absence.

Third place goes to Kohl’s, which came in second last year. Honorable mentions go to Whole Foods and Old Navy.

Best store with friendly service
C&E Hardware

Whenever you walk into C&E Hardware, this year’s winner for best store with friendly service, you feel like you’re the most important, loved, respectable and all-around awesome person on God’s gray earth. These people make the Dali Lama look like Bobby Knight. Seriously, it’s like you just walked into Grandma’s house to pick up a power drill and a stud finder.

Coming in second place this year is BellaVino on Stimson Avenue. If you want to pick up an obscure six-pack of ale and a nice bottle of Reisling, all the while being treated like you just gave a six-figure donation to a children’s hospital, go to BellaVino.

In third place is Fluff Bakery and Catering, also voted as best new business this year. And it’s no surprise. When you’re in Fluff, you feel like your sandwich is being prepared at your fun aunt’s house.

Honorable mentions include the Import House and Blue Eagle Music.

Hippest clothing store
Athens Underground

Was there ever any doubt as to who would win this category? Whatever you think “hip” means – and as somebody really hip once said, if you have to ask, you’ll never know, and even if we explain it, you won’t understand and we’ll all laugh at you after you leave – the greatest concentration of this ephemeral quality in Athens can be found at the Athens Underground vintage clothing store. It’s like groovy-coat junction, Dad. The monkey’s instep, you dig? Hi-ho trailus boot whip. We’ll stop now.

Second place goes to Artifacts Gallery, and third to The Other Place.

Honorable mentions go to Import House and Figleaf.

Best Window Display
Artifact’s Gallery

With its whimsical sundresses and stylish handbags meticulously arranged in the window, it’s not surprising that Artifact’s Gallery wins Best Window Display. The showcased merchandise just beckons passersby to take a peak inside.

Cross Court Cards and Gifts – located just a few blocks up Court Street – wins second place, followed by College Bookstore.

Apparently Athens County is home to many eye-catching window displays; other striking storefronts include Passion Works Studio, So Livi’s, Import House, Mountain Laurel Gifts, Blue Eagle Music, Figleaf, The Other Place, Little Professor, Follett’s Bookstore, Court Street Collections, Carter Lumber, Decorative Injections, Lucky’s Sports Tavern, Restaurant Salaam, Schoolkids and Blackburn Home Furnishings.