Justin Fox Burks
Best Antiques Store
1. Sheffield Antiques Mall
2. Palladio Antiques
3. Antique Warehouse
In its nearly 80,000 square feet of showroom space, treasure hunters can spend a full day looking for loot at Sheffield Antiques Mall. From knick-knacks and collectibles to art and outdoor furnishings, the mall’s 300 dealers have reeled in our readers since 1995.
Best Beer Selection (in a store)
1. Madison Avenue Growler Shop/Cash Saver
2. Buster’s Liquors & Wine
3. Joe’s Wines & Liquor — tie —Kroger
There’s a reason why 901ers frequently head to Midtown for a beer run. Cash Saver has an unparalleled selection (over 330 brands) of local, national, and international brews, and at great prices to boot! If you’re in the mood for more volume, the specially curated 30 taps at the Growler Shop provide a fresh option.
Best Bicycle Shop
1. Peddler Bike Shop
2. Outdoors, Inc.
3. Victory Bicycle Studio
With so many trailways and routes around Memphis these days, it would be a shame not to take advantage. Peddler Bike Shop keeps all the right wheels spinning, providing the best bike outlet for veterans and new cyclists alike.
Best Bookstore
1. Novel
2. Burke’s Book Store
3. Tiger Bookstore
Let’s hear it for Novel’s founders, who could not bear a Memphis without a locally owned bookstore. The space is small, smart, and has books and magazines galore for those who like nothing better than settling in with a good read.
Best Butcher
1. Charlie’s Meat Market
2. Thomas Meat & Seafood Market
3. Superlo Foods
That’s one fine piece of meat! We aren’t sexually harassing anyone, we swear. We’re just admiring the offerings at Charlie’s Meat Market — chops, tenderloin, roasts. You name it, they’ve got it. Even veggies!
Best Creative Agency
BOM 1. Sauce Marketing
2. Archer Malmo
3. Neon Canvas
With a name like Sauce, this small firm has blended the best ingredients to garner their first-ever win as Best Creative Agency. Founded in 2007 by “Sauce Boss” Kim Garmon Hummel, the firm’s tools include brand strategy, market analysis, web design, and other services for NeuroSource, Mid-South Orthopedic, Fusion Fitness, and other clients.
Best Day Care for Kids
1. Lindenwood Christian Child Care Center
2. Memphis Jewish Community Center
3. Germantown Baptist Church Weekday Preschool — tie — La Petite Academy of Cordova
It’s a tough decision when parents are trying to find somebody (or someplace) to take care of their children, but readers obviously think Lindenwood is the next best thing to home.
Justin Fox Burks
Best Event Rental Venue
1. Memphis Botanic Garden
2. 409 South Main
3. Balinese Ballroom
From small to grand and from indoors to outdoors, the Garden can accommodate whatever your event. It’s been the site for some of the city’s grandest fund-raisers and most gorgeous weddings.
Best Farmers Market
1. Memphis Farmers Market
2. Agricenter Farmers Market
3. Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market
When it comes to fresh produce and handmade wares, the Memphis Farmers Market is the place to be. Open every Saturday from April to October in the Central Station Pavilion Downtown, this market is the perfect place for Memphians looking to buy the freshest produce and enjoy delicious foods from more than 70 vendors.
Best Florist
1. Pugh’s Flowers
2. Holliday Flowers & Events
3. Garden District
Quite frankly, we never thought a skunk would be the best logo for a florist. Well, that just shows what we know about noses. Pugh’s Flowers, in business since 1976, has been a reader favorite for years, with four shops in Memphis and landscape companies in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Best Garden Center
1. Dan West Garden Center
2. Midtown Nursery
3. Urban Earth Garden Center
It’s an unassuming place, jammed into a former gas station, but don’t let the humble surroundings fool you. Year after year, Dan West is our reader favorite. Need advice about plants, mulch, watering, shade, insects? Everyone who works here has a green thumb.
Best Gift Shop
1. Babcock Gifts
2. Falling into Place
3. The Broom Closet — tie — More than Words Gifts
Is there a bride in Memphis who hasn’t listed Babcock Gifts on her wedding registry? With a seemingly endless selection of fine china, silverware, cookware, pottery, and more, if you can’t find a gift here for the newlyweds, you just aren’t trying.
Best Grocery Store
1. Whole Foods Market
2. Kroger
3. Sprouts
Opened in East Memphis and with another location in Germantown, Whole Foods is dedicated to providing high-quality organic products — including food, household, and health items — to its customers. If you’re looking for a quick way to pick up something healthy and delicious, this is the place.
Best Specialty Food Shop
BOM 1. Dinstuhl’s Fine Candies
2. Cordova International Farmers Market
3. Viet Hoa
Dinstuhl’s Fine Candies is a perennial favorite for Memphians with a sweet tooth. And after five generations making cashew crunch, chocolate-covered strawberries, and other delectable desserts all with only the most wholesome ingredients, the folks at Dinstuhl’s know what they’re doing in the candy kitchen.
Best Shopping Center
1. Shops of Saddle Creek
2. Carriage Crossing
3. Laurelwood Shopping Center
Shops of Saddle Creek offer the savvy shopper a shopping center with class to spare. With Apple Store, Chico’s, American Threads, and Rise Biscuits Donuts all on the premises, the Germantown center has everything from technology to fashion to food all in one spot, offering a whole experience.
Best Home Furnishings
1. IKEA
2. Stash Home
3. The Find by Frugal Home Finds
If you want to furnish your home for cheap, you go to IKEA. Whether you’re in the market for a new bed or dining room table, IKEA has it. The massive Swedish store is a maze of furniture, decor, and everything else one might need in their home. The prices are reasonable, and the products never disappoint.
Justin Fox Burks
Best Hotel
BOM 1. The Peabody
2. The River Inn of Harbor Town
3. The Guest House at Graceland
Ornate interior, a rooftop with a view of Downtown Memphis, and of course, the world-famous ducks easily make the Peabody Hotel the best hotel in town. Marble floors and columns accented with gold decorate the hotel’s two-story lobby, drawing visitors into its historic grandeur.
Best Law Firm
1. Nahon, Saharovich, and Trotz
2. Baker Donelson
3. Ballin, Ballin & Fishman
NST gets the job done. The law firm has been around for 30 years, advocating for injured people. The staff is polite, efficient, and eager to help people get the compensation they deserve.
Best Lingerie Shop
1. Coco & Lola’s
2. Trousseau
3. A Fitting Place
Coco & Lola’s is bringing sexy back with vintage, contemporary, and exotic lingerie. The shop has lingerie for all occasions, from body suits to bridal whites to corsets. You’ll find garments made of lace, silk, leather, fur, latex, and fishnet in the homey Midtown shop.
Best Liquor Store
1. Buster’s Liquors & Wines
2. Joe’s Wines & Liquor
3. Kirby Wines & Liquors
They have everything. That’s what you’ll often hear people say about Busters on Highland. It’s like a mall for alcohol. Other than having the largest wine selection in Memphis, the spacious store has all kinds of craft beer, spirits, and even some staple mixers.
Best Local Athletic Goods Store
BOM 1. Outdoors, Inc.
2. Academy Sports + Outdoors — tie — Fleet Feet Sports
3. Breakaway Running
If you need a water bottle or some hiking sandals, Outdoors, Inc. is the best place in town to find them. They’ve got all the quality brands outdoorsy people know and love, like Chaco, North Face, and Patagonia. And the friendly staff makes the great Outdoors experience even better.
Best Local Bank or Credit Union
1. Orion Federal Credit Union
2. First Tennessee Bank
3. Southern Security Federal Credit Union
Banking is how it should be at Orion Federal Credit Union — secure and easy. The staff is efficient, knowledgeable, and helpful.
Best Local Fine Jewelry Store
1. Mednikow Jewelers
2. Ed Harris Jewelry
3. Las Savell Jewelry
At Mednikow Jewelers, where timeless, elegant diamonds and other precious jewels abound, everything that glitters is gold — or another hand-selected precious metal. Mednikow has a vast selection of rings, necklaces, watches, and other fine jewelry for every occasion.
Best Local Store for Men’s Clothing
1. Baer’s Den
2. James Davis Men’s Store
3. Oak Hall
A cozy boutique in Laurelwood, Baer’s Den offers the season’s best men’s fashions. They carry high-quality brands like Hugo Boss, Polo, and Citizens of Humanity. The racks are lined with all the wardrobe essentials, like jeans and button downs.
Best Local Store for Men’s Shoes
1. Oak Hall
2. Fleet Feet Sports
3. Outdoors, Inc.
Shoes from Oak Hall will make your feet happy. They’ve got the best selection of stylish, comfortable, and quality shoes for men in town.
Best Local Store for Women’s Clothing
1. Paisley Rooster Boutique
2. Baer’s Den
3. Indigo
Look smart and shop smart at this store with locations in Collierville and Arlington, although if you just can’t get out to either one, hit them up online and make your wish list come true.
Best Local Store for Women’s Shoes
1. Joseph’s
2. Cook & Love
3. Kaufman Shoes
Who doesn’t need a Valentino ankle strap for the evening, or a Louboutin glitter sandal, or a Gucci over-the-knee boot? You’d best hike on over to Joseph to treat your feet stylishly right.
Best Music Equipment Store
1. Amro Music Stores
2. Memphis Drum Shop
3. Martin Music
The fourth generation family-owned music store can get you a piccolo or a piano, some music to go with your choice, and service it as well. And if it was good enough for Elvis, B.B. King, and John Mayer, then it should be for you, too.
Best Pet Boarding/Day Care
1. BrownDog Lodge — tie — Camp Bow Wow
2. Dogs Rule Day Care & School
3. Barks and Recreation
Luxury pet hotel BrownDog Lodge and pet care experts Camp Bow Wow are where you can feel confident taking your furry loved ones. They’ll miss you, but they get to socialize with their pals, are well fed, and well taken care of.
Best Pet Store
BOM 1. Hollywood Feed
2. PetSmart
3. House of Mews
With half a dozen stores around town (and expanding around the country), this is the place to get your natural, holistic, and American-made pet food and products. And it supports local rescues.
Best Vet
1. Walnut Grove Animal Clinic
2. Utopia Animal Hospital
3. McGehee Clinic for Animals
The doctors and staff make your four-legged family members their number one priority. And now that its big expansion was completed earlier this year, the treatment, amenities, and care are better than ever.
Best Place to Buy a Motorcycle
BOM 1. Bumpus Harley-Davidson
2. Southern Thunder Harley-Davidson
3. Honda-Yamaha of Memphis
With five dealerships from here to Lynchburg, Bumpus provides everything Harley lovers need in new and used motorcycles, from service to support and including the most awesomely legit gear.
Best Place to Get Vintage/Used Clothing
1. Goodwill
2. Flashback
3. City Thrift
There’s a great satisfaction in getting compliments on your stylish ensemble and only you know it came from Goodwill. That’s good for the ego, great for the budget, and it’s all going to a good cause.
Best Realtor
1. Ashley Onsby, MidSouth Residential LLC
2. Todd “Too Tall” Adams, Keller Williams
3. Max Rubenstein, Keller Williams
Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s? Doesn’t really matter since, with years of experience in the real estate industry, Ashley is a go-getter who dedicates herself to moving that property of yours.
Best Record Store
1. Goner Records
2. Shangri-La Records
3. Dixie Pickers
Not every record store hosts its own music festival or its own music label, but Goner Records in Cooper-Young is not your average record store. The little shop is so crammed with limited-edition vinyl, rock memoirs, and used CDs that it’s a wonder they can make room for a drum set when they host their occasional in-store shows. If you respect serious garage-rock riffage, go give them a visit. Tell them the Flyer sent you.
Best Sex Shop
1. Christal’s
2. Inz & Outz
3. Romantix
For a little something to add some spice between the sheets, Memphians choose Christal’s. And it’s no wonder. The selection is, well, massive, and the staff are friendly. The nighttime is the right time, and Christal’s is the right place — Memphians’ choice for Best Sex Shop.
Best Tattoo Artist
1. Anthony “Tony” Max, No Regrets
2. Jordan Epperson, No Regrets — tie — Claire Faulhaber, Underground Art
3. Sarah Workman, Underground Art
Anthony “Tony” Max has got skills with an electric needle. He excels at detail work, and he’s on staff at BOM-winning tattoo studio No Regrets. Maybe it’s time to finally get that shoulder piece you’ve been dreaming of.
Best Tattoo Studio
1. No Regrets
2. Underground Art
3. Trilogy
It’s reassuring to see the words “No Regrets” in big, bold letters on the sign before taking the tattoo leap. And this Midtown studio, Memphians’ choice, employs some of the best artists in town. So there are no worries, no regrets. Now just go get that sick zombie Elvis tattoo.
Best Tobacco Shop
1. Whatever Shop
2. Tinder Box
3. Havana Mix
Best Vape Shop
1. Whatever Shop
2. Create A Cig
3. VaporWize Highland
Best Alternative Smoke Shop
1. Whatever Shop
2. Wizard’s
3. Tater Red’s Lucky Mojos
Whatever Shop pulled a hat trick this year, taking first place in Best Tobacco Shop, Best Vape Shop, and Best Alternative Smoke Shop. The shop is always cool and dark and faintly smelling of incense, with something spaced-out trickling from the speakers. It’s pretty much the Platonic ideal of a little, tie-dyed smoke shop. But don’t take our word for it; go see for yourself.
Best New Car Dealership
1. Wolfchase Honda
2. Principle Toyota
3. Jim Keras Subaru
Do you need Clarity in your life? Then head on over to Wolfchase Honda for this hybrid plug-in. They can set you up in an Accord or Civic or whatever Honda model is your preferred wheels. Great service, too.
Justin Fox Burks
Best Used Car Dealership
BOM 1. Collierville Auto Center
2. City Auto
3. Gossett Motor Cars
Best Auto Repair
BOM 1. Collierville Auto Center
2. Steve’s Tire & Auto
3. Barton’s Car Care
It should put your mind at ease that the best place to buy used cars just happens to be the best place to repair them, if it comes to that. Collierville Auto Center is our readers’ choice for anything from a tune-up to a complete overhaul.
