Best of Memphis 2015: Goods & Services

Kroger

Best Grocery Store

1. Kroger

2. Fresh Market

3. Whole Foods Market

With expansions in Germantown and the U of M areas, and a new store slated for Midtown, it’s no wonder Kroger continues its dominance in the game of groceries.

Best Specialty Food Store

1. Sweet Noshings

2. Porcellino’s Craft Butcher

3. Cooper Street 20/20 — tie — The Mighty Olive

How do you make a dinner date in Overton Square even better? With dessert at Sweet Noshings — it’s where your sweetie satisfies a sweet tooth.

Best Liquor Store

1. Buster’s Liquors & Wines

2. Joe’s Wines & Liquors

3. Kirby Wine & Liquors

Whether you’re in the market for moonshine or margaritas, Buster’s has an encyclopedic selection of spirits. The staff is well-trained to help you navigate the largest selection of adult beverages in the state, as well as offer some evergreen tips about which wine to pair with dinner.

Best Shopping Center

1. Carriage Crossing

2. The Shops of Saddle Creek

3. Laurelwood Shopping Center

With businesses like Milano’s Pizza, Barnes & Noble, and H&M, it is hard to beat Carriage Crossing for shopping convenience. The Collierville shopping center, home to over 70 retailers, also hosts regular outdoor family movie nights.

Best Gift Shop

1. Babcock Gifts

2. Maggie’s Pharm

3. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Gift Shop — tie — More Than Words Gifts — tie — Wizard’s

This East Memphis gift shop provides one-on-one help so that customers can secure the best bridal, baby, or holiday present. As their website says, “You can find something for everyone — except perhaps a teenage boy.”

Best Farmers Market

1. Memphis Farmers Market

2. Agricenter Farmers Market

3. Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market

Start your morning with a donut and a cup of iced coffee before you source local veggies and listen to live music at the Memphis Farmers Market. There is no better spot to speak face-to-face with the men and women who till the region’s soil. You can even leave your dog with on-site pet sitters while you do your week’s shopping!

Best Bookstore (New)

1. The Booksellers at Laurelwood

2. Barnes & Noble

3. Burke’s Book Store

A success story in a time when independent bookstores struggle to survive, the Booksellers is known for their well-read staff, regular author events, comprehensive (and cozy) magazine section, and family story times. They also offer a selection of gifts and home goods and recently expanded to include a used books section.

Best Bookstore (Used)

1. Burke’s Book Store

2. The Booksellers at Laurelwood

3. Tiger Bookstore

There is no better place in town to find a well-loved book about old school Memphis music or to browse dog-eared poetry chapbooks. Burke’s also carries great reads by local authors, a curated shelf of new fiction and nonfiction, and the classics.

Best Bank

★ BOM 1. First Tennessee Bank

2. Bank of Bartlett

3. Independent Bank — tie — Orion Federal Credit Union

During the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, a solitary cashier named Charles Q. Harris singlehandedly kept First National Bank open, at a time when most businesses were fleeing the stricken city. The bank not only handled the payrolls of other companies but also dispensed much-needed relief funds for food and medicine, playing a big role in keeping our city alive. We like to think that the brave spirit of Harris is embodied in all the employees of what is now known as First Tennessee Bank, and it’s for that reason that the bank — which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year — ranks first with our readers year after year.

Crazy Beautiful

Best Women’s Clothing

1. Crazy Beautiful

2. The Attic Apparel

3. 20twelve — tie — Indigo

“Late nights, records, whiskey, dirty sheets, my lover’s tee and a topknot” reads a shirt you can buy at Crazy Beautiful, something of a manifesto for the relaxed and fun-loving women’s clothing boutique. From reasonably priced sundresses to sequined shorts, Crazy Beautiful creates looks for women who are, well, crazy and beautiful.

Best Women’s Shoes

1. Joseph

2. Cook & Love

3. Outdoors Inc.

Women around these parts speak in reverent, hushed tones about Joseph. And all the gods are there: Louboutin, Burch, Chloé, Blahnik … Amen!

Oak Hall

Best Men’s Clothing

1. Oak Hall

2. James Davis

3. Outdoors, Inc.

Best Men’s Shoes

1. Oak Hall

2. Outdoors Inc. — tie — James Davis

3. Baer’s Den

A fine suit, a brilliant tie, a belt that provokes envy — that’s being dressed to kill, and Memphis’ sharpest dressed men pick up their armaments at Oak Hall.

Best Vintage/Used Clothing

1. Goodwill

2. Flashback

3. Blues City Thrift — tie — Hoot + Louise

The ’80s are back, or is it the ’70s? Fringe is in and skinny jeans out. Maybe you don’t follow, so that long, gold circa-’60s wool coat speaks to you. You can keep your wardrobe snapping on the cheap at the many area Goodwill stores.

Best Home Furnishings

1. Ashley Furniture HomeStore — tie — Stash

2. Great American Home Store

3. Pottery Barn Outlet

Looking for a new coffee table on which to display your Memphis Flyer? Or perhaps a comfier couch, so you can be an even better potato? Both Ashley and Stash offer a selection of stylish furniture and accessories for any room in the house. With quality products and convenient locations, our readers think they’re equally great.

Best Pet Store

1. Hollywood Feed

2. Petco

3. PetSmart

The knowledgeable employees at Hollywood Feed are eager to help as soon as you walk in the door of any of their area locations. And they’ve got a great variety of all-natural treats and eats, tons of toys, and locally made beds for your furry friends. Pets love the place, and so do our readers.

Best Hair Salon

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Dabbles Hair Company

3. Capelli Inc.

Best Day Spa

★ BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Midtown Massage & Bodywork

3. Germantown Day Spa

Best Place to Get a Facial

★ BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Eden Spa & Laser

3. Germantown Day Spa

Best Nail Salon

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Nail Bar on the Island

3. Roses Nails

Best Place to Get Waxed

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. European Wax Center

3. Dabbles Hair Company

When it comes to pampering ourselves, Memphians clearly choose Gould’s. Looking to get a new hairdo, fancy nails, a good waxing, a facial, or to enjoy a relaxing day at the spa? Their professionals take good care of us, and we like that.

Best Hair Stylist

READERS’ CHOICE

Allison Becksfort, formerly of Pavo Salon Spa

Feras Hdaib, New Beginnings by Roy Evans

Holly Woods, Paggio’s Salon

Jaklyn Keen, Dabbles Hair Company

Marcie Seccombe, Salon 387

Wallis Ashley, Salon 387

Healthy hair is happy hair. And a new ‘do, cut, or color can make anyone feel great. Having a talented and personable stylist just makes the whole experience that much better. Our readers think these stylists are the hairspray to their hold, the Goldi to their locks, the Jheri to their curl.

Best Health/Fitness Club

1. Salvation Army Kroc Center

2. Planet Fitness

3. Germantown Athletic Club — tie — Fogelman Downtown YMCA

Maybe we do eat a lot of barbecue, but that doesn’t mean Memphians aren’t fit. Our readers try to work off as much of that pork and sauce as they can, and they prefer to do it at the Kroc Center.

Cardio Barre

Best Specialty Fitness Studio

1. Cardio Barre

2. Pure Barre

3. CrossFit 901

Much like ballet, barre exercises have you doing high energy/no impact movements using a horizontal barre for support. At Cardio Barre, they combine barre work with light weights so our arms, torso, butt, and legs look great.

Best Yoga Studio

1. Midtown Yoga

2. Better Bodies Yoga

3. Bikram Yoga East Memphis — tie — Bikram Yoga Overton Square — tie — Delta Groove Yoga

Breathe in. Breathe out. Stretch. Release. Finding your center is easy at Midtown Yoga. They’ll help you do your best and most effective downward dog, cat, hare, or tree pose. You may even align a chakra or two. Namaste!

Best Fine Jewelry Store

1. Mednikow

2. Las Savell Jewelry

3. Sissy’s Log Cabin

A little bling goes a long way if you’ve got the good stuff. And Mednikow offers the real deal. Silver and gold, rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, and diamonds — beautiful, shiny diamonds — they’ve got the hook up.

Best Tattoo Parlor

1. No Regrets Tattoo Emporium

2. Undgerground Art, Inc.

3. Trilogy Tattoos

When our readers want to get inked by some of the city’s best artists, they choose No Regrets. They do beautiful work in a clean, comfortable environment and fulfill the promise of the shop’s name, whether you’re getting a phoenix, a flower, or Fat Albert.

Best Antiques Store

1. Sheffield Antiques Mall

2. Antique Warehouse Mall — tie — Flashback

3. Palladio Antiques and Art

Looking for a cool piece of decorative art, vintage furniture, or retro jewelry? Sheffield Antiques Mall has that stuff and more. With a variety of items on offer from more than 360 antiques dealers, our readers go there to get their fix.

Best Tobacco Shop

1. Tobacco Corner, Ltd.

2. Wizard’s

3. Tinder Box

Tobacco Corner has taken the top spot yet again this year for Memphis’ best tobacco shop. For over 45 years, the shop at South Mendenhall and Poplar has been a Memphis institution.

Best Alternative Smoke Shop

1. Whatever

2. Wizard’s

3. Cooper-Young Glassworks & Gifts

It’s no surprise that Whatever has won the title of Best of Memphis again this year. The shop offers plenty for the alternative smoker: pipes made of glass, tobacco papers, and all kinds of gifts like jewelry.

Best Dry Cleaner

1. Bensinger’s Fine Cleaners

2. Germantown Cleaners

3. Dryve Cleaners — tie — Happy Day Laundry and Cleaners

Bensinger’s has 10 locations all over Memphis, and our readers love taking their clothes there. They’ve been in business for more than half a century — one of the reasons Memphians have voted it the best in the city.

Best Florist

1. Pugh’s Flowers

2. Holliday Flowers & Events, Inc.

3. Garden District

Pugh’s may have been voted best florist, but Pugh’s has more than flowers for every occasion. They offer plants, edibles like cakes and cookies, and tapestries, too.

Best Garden Center

1. Dan West Garden Center

2. Midtown Nursery

3. Digger O’Dell Nursery — tie — Stringer’s Poplar Pointe Garden Center

Our readers love Dan West, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to being the best place to get garden supplies and plants, Christmas time is an experience at Dan West, offering all kinds of natural Christmas trees for over 20 years.

Best Athletic Goods Store

1. Outdoors Inc.

2. Breakaway Running

3. Fleet Feet Sports

Outdoors Inc. is known for its vast array of products for everything — climbing, camping, cycling, whitewater rafting — for the active Memphian. If you do it outside, you know that you can find everything you need at their five locations.

Best Bicycle Shop

1. Peddler Bike Shop

2. Midtown Bike

3. Outdoors Inc.

Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or learning to ride a bike for the first time, Peddler is the place to find everything you need, from the bikes to all the gear.

Goner Records

Best Record Store (New)

1. Spin Street

2. Goner Records

3. Shangri-La Records

If you need to find the latest CD, Spin Street at the corner of Poplar and Highland has your back. The mainstay record store not only has music filled to the walls but also gifts for all music lovers in your life.

Best Record Store (Used)

1. Goner Records

2. Shangri-La Records

3. Spin Street

Popular Goner Records is the only record store in town to have its own festival, Goner Fest, for 12 years. The store’s charm is only half the reason to shop there; the music selection is the other.

Amro Music

Best Music Equipment Store

1. Amro Music

2. Guitar Center — tie— Memphis Drum Shop

3. Gibson Guitar

Amro not only has the biggest selection of instruments, pianos, and accessories in Memphis, they’ve also got repair technicians, support staff for directors and students, and a rental system that makes getting an instrument a breeze.

Best New Car Dealership

READERS’ CHOICE

Acura of Memphis

AutoNation Honda 385

Landers Ford

Lexus of Memphis

Wolfchase Honda

Wolfchase Toyota-Scion

Memphians love their car dealerships — so much, in fact, that we couldn’t determine a winner for this category. These dealerships are all over the map, too; perfect for wherever you live.