Independent businesses across the city centre have been battling it out in the annual competition to find Nottingham’s Best Independent Business – and the top three in each category has now been announced.
The It’s in Nottingham Independents competition, is organised each year by Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) to discover the best independent business in the city in seven categories as well as an overall winner.
The top three independent businesses in each category, as voted for by the public, are as follows:
In the Attractions and Things to do category, the top three are:
· Broadway Cinema, Broad Street
· Deli-cious Chocolate at The National Justice Museum, High Pavement,
· Hopkinson Vintage, Antiques & Arts Centre, Station Street
In the Café/Coffee Shop category, the top three are:
· 200 Degrees Coffee Shop, Flying Horse Walk
· Doughnotts, King Street
· The Dice Cup, Mansfield Road
In the Health, Hair and Beauty category, the top three are:
· Beauty Temple, Queen Street
· Flint Barbers, King Street
· Loxley Opticians and Eyewear Specialist, Friar Lane
In the Homeware and Giftware category, the top three are:
· Dukki Design, St James’s Street
· Handmade Nottingham, King’s Walk
· Tokenhouse, St Peter’s Gate
In the Pub, Club, Bar and Music Venue category, the top four* are:
• Rock City, Talbot Street
• The Malt Cross, St James’s Street
• Ye Olde Salutation Inn, Hounds Gate
• Peggy’s Skylight, George Street
* A voting tie has resulted in four finalist businesses in the Pub, Club, Bar and Music Venue category.
In the Restaurant category, the top three are:
· Annie’s Burger Shack, Broadway
· Bar Iberico, Carlton Street
· Delilah Fine Foods, Victoria Street
In the Retail category, the top three are:
· Knit Nottingham, Trinity Walk
· Shop Zero, St James’s Street
· The Bead Shop, Market Street
The finalists were arrived after a staggering 12,300 votes were cast by the public.
Each of the businesses will now be independently judged by mystery shoppers and visited by a panel of judges.
The winning business in each category plus an overall winner will be announced at a special breakfast event taking place on Independence Day – Thursday 4 July 2019.
For the second year there will also be a Special Achievement award which will be presented to an independent business that the judges believe should receive special recognition for their longevity and their contribution to the independents scene in Nottingham city centre.
“Congratulations to all the businesses that have been shortlisted” said Geoff Williams, a director of Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID), the organisation behind this initiative. “People have really got behind this competition, as the large number of businesses that people have voted for and the number of votes cast shows. Consequently these businesses have done really well to get this far. We look forward to seeing who wins each category, who is crowned the overall winner and who receives the Special Achievement Award.”
