By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Chamber of Commerce (RCOC) unveiled the results of its first-ever “Best of Richmond” awards after community members voted for their favorite city businesses in a variety of categories.
Voting for the contest commenced in May, leading to the RCOC recently compiling and announcing the results of nearly 20,000 votes cast for the contest. “We love Richmond,” said the RCOC on its website, noting that it launched the inaugural Best of Richmond program “to celebrate the businesses, services and amenities that make our city special.”
General categories for the contest included Animal Services, Celebrating Diversity, Children and Youth, Food & Drink, Health and Wellness, Household and General Services, Lifestyle & Leisure, Professional Services and Retail Stores.
Within those categories were numerous sub-categories for which community members could vote for online for their favorite businesses, with the favorites emerging as “gold” or “silver” winners.
A sampling of contest winners included The Milo Foundation winning gold and the House Rabbit Society silver under Best Animal Shelter or Rescue Groups; Empathy in Action taking gold and Rich City Studios silver for the Best African American Owned Business; The Practice Space earning gold and The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts silver for the Best Summer Camps; and The Factory Bar taking gold and the Up & Under Pub and Grill silver for Best Bars.
Check out the full list of winners here.
