Best Grocery Store
1. Kroger
2. Whole Foods
3. Fresh Market
The modern, self-service grocery was invented in Memphis — Clarence Saunders’ Piggly Wiggly changed everything when it opened in 1916. When today’s Memphians want to stock up on groceries, raid the deli counter, or veg out in the produce section, our poll shows that they reply, in force, “Let’s go Krogering.” Plus, Kroger carries Pancho’s cheese dip.
Best Liquor Store
1. Buster’s Liquors & Wine
2. Joe’s Liquor Store
3. Kirby Wine & Liquors
It’s alcohol, so it’s hard to go wrong — and with Buster’s, it’s hard to go more right. Extensive selection, good prices, friendly and helpful staff: Buster’s has got your fix whether you like piña coladas or just the taste of champagne.
Best Department Store
1. Target
2. Macy’s
3. Dillard’s
To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, if you have to ask what Target is, you’ll never know.
Best Shopping Mall
1. The Avenue Carriage Crossing
2. Oak Court
3. Wolfchase Galleria
This open-air mall in Collierville gets the readers’ pick for Best Shopping Mall. In addition to a great selection of stores, the pedestrian- and kid-friendly destination screens movies and hosts live music on Friday nights and showcases a full slate of nonprofit events.
Best Gift Shop
1. Maggie’s Pharm
2. Babcock Gifts
3. More Than Words
For more than two decades, Maggie’s Pharm has provided its customers with “herbs, oils, and other things” from its Midtown location. The store carries Archipelago, Primal Elements, Burt’s Bees, Crabtree & Evelyn, and Pre de Provence, among others. What do you get the person who has everything? They’ll hook you up at Maggie’s Pharm.
Best Farmers Market
1. Memphis Farmers Market
2. Agricenter Farmers Market
3. Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market
If Memphis has gone loco for the locavore movement, much of the credit goes to the Memphis Farmers Market. Started in 2006, the downtown market has sparked a trend, including a number of neighborhood farmers markets in other parts of the city.
Best BookStore (new)
1. Davis-Kidd Booksellers
2. Barnes & Noble
3. Borders Books Music & More
It was a dark and stormy night when Karen Davis and Thelma Kidd decided to open Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Actually, we don’t know if that’s true, but it seems like a good bit of fiction for a place with a good bit of fiction.
Best BookStore (used)
BOM 1. Burke’s Book Store
2. Tiger Bookstore
3. Book Traders
Burke’s recently celebrated its 135th anniversary with a gathering of some of its former owners, including Bill Burke’s widow, Patsy. The newest chapter has seen the beloved bookstore move to Cooper-Young and focus on what owners Corey and Cheryl Mesler see as their core business: buying and selling used books.
Best Bank
1. First Tennessee Bank
2. Regions
3. Bank of America
It’s fitting that a bank named First Tennessee would indeed win first place in the category for Best Bank. That’s truth in advertising, folks.
Best Local Store for Women’s Clothing
1. Crazy Beautiful
2. Indigo
3. Oak Hall
Located near the University of Memphis, Crazy Beautiful is seemingly one pinup girl shy of a calendar. With dresses from Trashy Diva and Living Dead Souls, the store specializes in retro style with a modern twist.
Best Local Store for Men’s Clothing
1. Oak Hall
2. James Davis
3. Lansky’s
Walking into Oak Hall is like walking into the hushed boutique of a Paris atelier, only the accents are a little more Southern. But the clothes are just as couture. With suiting from Zegna, Robert Talbott, and Hugo Boss, Oak Hall is one pinstripe away from perfection.
Best Vintage Clothing
1. Flashback
2. Goodwill
3. Salvation Army
A longtime favorite, Flashback has proven that vintage wear is all in the details. Their extensive selection of clothing and furniture is anchored by a bevy of accessories: More magnets, jewelry, trinkets, and silk-scarf-covered pins than you could ever sift through.
Best Local Men’s Shoe Storep>
1. Oak Hall
2. James Davis
3. R.sole
We just talked about walking into Oak Hall and how nice that is. Walking out is just as nice, because Oak Hall is also the best place in town for men’s shoes.
Best Local Women’s Shoe Store
1. Joseph
2. Shoe-Nami
3. Cook & Love Shoes
Among the well-heeled, Joseph is the tip of the stiletto, the peep in peep-toe, and the pump in pumps. Carrying Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Chloé, and Donald Pliner, Joseph definitely has sole.
Best Home Furnishings
1. Pottery Barn
2. Ashley Furniture Homestore
3. Samuels Furniture & Interiors
Memphis gets a lot of mileage out of being a logistics hub. One of the more rarely mentioned advantages, however, are outlets such as the Pottery Barn store on Spottswood. Filled with bargains on contemporary furniture and stylish home décor, no wonder it’s our readers’ favorite.
Best Pet Store
1. Petco
2. Hollywood Feed
3. PetSmart
It’s where the pets go! But it’s also whence the pets come: The store hosts animal adoption days where customers can pick out a new pet up front, then shop around the rest of the store to get the whole nine yards.
Best Hair Salon
1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon
2. Dabbles
3. Hi Gorgeous
Best Day Spa
BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon
2. Serenity Day Spa
3. Germantown Day Spa
Best Place To Get a Facial
BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon
2. Mona Spa & Laser Center
3. Germantown Day Spa
Best Place To Get a Manicure/Pedicure
1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon
2. Nail Bar
3. Rose’s Nails
Best Place To Get Waxed
1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon
2. Hi Gorgeous
3. Serenity Day Spa
If you want some pampering, better get to Gould’s. Taking home the readers’ awards for Best Hair Salon, Best Day Spa, Best Place To Get a Facial, and Best Place To Get a Manicure/Pedicure, Gould’s has got you covered from head to toe. Literally. As for the Best Place To Get Waxed, just be grateful we didn’t make a joke about manscaping.
Best Health/Fitness Club
1. YMCA Downtown
2. DeSoto Athletic Club — tie — Memphis Jewish Community Center
3. Church Health Center Wellness
Maybe it’s the downtown location right next to AutoZone Park, or maybe it’s just the residual effect of the greatest disco song ever written, but the Downtown Y exercises its way to victory.
Best Yoga Studio
1. Midtown Yoga
2. Bikram Yoga
3. Better Bodies Yoga
Get downward, dog! Midtown Yoga found the best position in this category: number one.
Best Local Fine Jewelry
1. Mednikow Jewelers
2. Las Savell Jewelry
3. Robert Irwin Jewelers
Mednikow Jewelers really sparkled this year. This longtime East Memphis institution took home the top prize — and that has a nice ring to it.
Best Tattoo Parlor
1. No Regrets Tattoo Emporium
2. Underground Art
3. Trilogy
No Regrets Tattoo Emporium has a lot of satisfied customers, and they don’t have any regrets. When it comes to permanently decorating one’s body, what better recommendation can there be?
Best Antiques Store
1. Bojo’s Antique Mall — tie — Flashback
2. Toad Hall Antiques
3. Palladio
Bojo’s and Flashback tied among our voters for the best place to find old treasures, in a category dominated by shops in the Cooper/Peabody area.
Best Smoke Shop
1. Tobacco Corner
2. Wizard’s
3. Whatever
If you’re a smoker, whether it’s cigars, cigarettes, pipes — or whatever — our readers like Tobacco Corner, which snuffed the competition.
Best Dry Cleaner
1. Bensinger’s Fine Cleaners
2. Happy Day Laundry and Cleaners
3. Dryve Cleaners
Bensinger’s cleaned up in this category. A Memphis staple for many years, you can count on Bensinger’s to hang in the top three every time Best of Memphis rolls around.
Best Florist
1. Pugh’s Flowers
2. Holliday Flowers
3. Garden District
Yes, they’ve heard all the jokes, and you’ve seen their cute little vans with the skunk on the side. So Pugh’s has a sense of humor — and the top honors this year.
Best Garden Center
1. Dan West Garden Center
2. Midtown Nursery
3. Stringers Garden Center
Dan West has all your plant needs covered, like a mound of mulch around your azaleas. And that’s no fertilizer.
Best Local Athletic-Goods Store
1. Outdoors Inc.
2. Breakaway Athletics
3. Dowdle Sports
Outdoors Inc., once just a Midtown favorite, has expanded all over the area to serve those who want to play outside — with the best equipment.
Best Bicycle Shop
1. The Peddler (Highland)
2. Midtown Bicycle
3. Outdoors Inc.
A longtime favorite for Memphis cyclists, the Peddler coasts home with a win. Spandex optional.
Best Local Video Store (rental)
1. Black Lodge Video
2. Movie & Pizza Company
Black Lodge on Cooper has local film geeks covered, from the latest fare to obscure titles and foreign delights.
Best Record Store (new)
1. Spin Street
2. Goner Records
3. Shangri-La Records
Spin Street wins this category year after year because not only do they have an astonishing variety of CDs and DVDs (including a fine selection of low-priced, gently used copies) but a ton of music-related merchandise — posters, clothing, books, and guitars. Even if you just want to go in and look around, it’s almost impossible to walk out empty-handed. We know; we’ve tried.
Best Record Store (used)
1. Shangri-La Records
2. Spin Street
3. Goner Records
Last year, Memphis magazine’s history columnist Vance Lauderdale was writing about local flutist/musician Edwin Hubbard and traipsed into Shangri-La to see if they had a copy of his first album, which came out in the 1970s. They had three copies — unopened and unplayed. That’s just one example of the scope of the collection here. It’s almost like A. Schwab’s motto: “If you can’t find it here, you’re better off without it.”
Best Music Equipment Store
1. Amro Music Stores
2. Memphis Drum Shop
3. Guitar Center
Amro offers all things to all people: guitars for rockers, pianos for classical-music lovers, and brass and woodwinds for anyone playing in — or wanting to start their own — complete orchestra. Need a new tuba for the school band? You’ll find it here. Add lessons, sheet music, and a knowledgeable staff, and Amro is sweet music to our ears.
Best New Car Dealer
1. Dobbs Honda
2. Wolfchase Honda
3. Gossett
Years ago, Dobbs Honda was called Courtesy Honda, and even though the name has changed, the “courtesy” part has remained an essential part of this company’s success. A no-pressure sales staff, friendly and reliable service department, clean and spacious showroom — it’s a finely tuned machine that keeps our readers rolling year after year.
Best Used Car Dealer
1. Carmax
2. City Auto Sales
3. Gossett
The old days of trudging around car lots are over, and Carmax offers one of the best ways to find the car of your dreams — online. You can search by model, year, price range, and even fuel economy, check out multiple views of the cars online, then print out a handy list so you can see the cars in person. Judging from all the vehicles we see around town with the “Carmax” decal on their bumpers, it obviously works for our readers.
Best Place To Buy a Motorcycle
BOM 1. Bumpus Harley-Davidson
2. Al’s Honda
3. DeSoto Honda
Whether it’s the Whitten Road location or the newer store in Collierville, the ultra-modern building showcases plenty of Harleys, of course, and a fully staffed service department, but it’s also packed with clothing, parts, posters, and accessories. Displayed here and there are museum-quality vintage Harleys from a century-plus of Milwaukee Iron. Bumpus has a lock on readers for the simple reason that it’s not just a cycle shop; it’s a full-blown motorcycling experience.
