Buy Local
BEST APARTMENT FINDER Winner: Domu Chicago Apartments First Runner-up: The Apartment Source Second Runner-up: Marti LaHood, Keller Williams Preferred Realty
BEST AUTO DEALERSHIP Winner: Berman Subaru of Chicago
First Runner-up: Chicago Northside Toyota Second Runner-up: Fletcher Jones Audi
BEST AUTO REPAIR SHOP Winner: Ashland Tire and Auto
First Runner-up: Garcia’s Auto Parts, Tires, and Service Second-Runner-up (TIE): Kalamper Auto Repair and Tire Shop Second-Runner-up (TIE): Speedline Auto and Tire
BEST BARBER Winner: Mitch Koonce (Father and Son Barbershop) First Runner-up: Jamie DiGrazia (Logan Parlor) Second Runner-up: Colette Lundin (Old Dog Barbershop)
BEST GARDEN SUPPLY Winner: Gethsemane Garden Center First Runner-up: Adams and Son and Daughter Gardens Second Runner-up: Farmers Market Garden Center
BEST HAIR DRESSER Winner: Krista Burke (Spruce Salon) First Runner-up: Sam Stahl (Hairitics) Second Runner-up (TIE): Starresha Renae (Penny Lane) Second Runner-up (TIE): Benjamin Simkins (Bleach)
BEST HAIR SALON Winner: Isaac Crawford Salon
First Runner-up: Bang! Salon Second Runner-up (TIE): Smith and Davis Salon Second Runner-up (TIE): Salon Aken
BEST HOME FURNISHINGS Winner: District
First Runner-up: Spaced Out Studio Second Runner-up (TIE): Rare Form Second Runner-up (TIE): Wilderhouse
BEST BARBERSHOP Winner: Old Dog Barbershop
BEST INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE Winner: Women and Children First
BEST BICYCLE SHOP Winner: Uptown Bikes
BEST JEWELRY STORE Winner: Bryn Mawr Jewelry
BEST BOARD GAME STORE Winner: Chicagoland Games Dice Dojo
BEST KIDS CLOTHING Winner: Lilla Barn Clothing
First Runner-up: Fernwood Barbers Second Runner-up: The Public Barber
First Runner-up: BFF Bikes Second Runner-up: Roscoe Village Bikes
First Runner-up: Prism Games Chicago Second Runner-up: Goblin Market Manga, Games, and Curiosities
BEST COMICS SHOP Winner: AlleyCat Comics
First Runner-up: Howling Pages Second Runner-up: Challengers Comics
BEST DANCEWEAR SHOP Winner: Chicago Dance Supply First Runner-up: Plié Dancewear Second Runner-up: Wear Moi
BEST FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR BANK Winner: Chase Bank
First Runner-up: Wintrust Bank Second Runner-up: Beverly Bank & Trust
BEST FLORIST Winner: Flowers For Dreams
First Runner-up: Fleur Second Runner-up: Planks and Pistils 24 CHICAGO READER - FEBRUARY 22, 2024
First Runner-up: The Book Cellar Second Runner-up: Sandmeyer’s Bookstore
First Runner-up: Adornment and Theory Second Runner-up: Winifred Grace
First Runner-up: Cloud and Bunny Second Runner-up (TIE): Kido Second Runner-up (TIE): Sandbox Baby Boutique
BEST PLACE TO REMIND YOURSELF PRINT ISN’T DEAD
City Newsstand and City News Cafe
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any coffeeshops now function primarily as coworking spaces for the laptop-bound, but City Newsstand and City News Cafe in Portage Park is still unabashedly devoted to the printed word, with racks upon racks of magazines, both famous and obscure. There are magazines for serious photographers, budding musicians, and fans of fashion and fine art. Comics and graphic novels have a section, too, as do coloring books and sudoku puzzles, and the cafe offers an unparalleled selection of regional publications hailing from towns from Maine to California. There are periodicals about planes, trains, and automobiles, and an extensive selection of Fire Apparatus Journal (which is exactly what it sounds like). City News has books, too—music biographies, science, popular history, and plenty of Chicago-centric fare, often at discount prices. And yes, adult magazines still exist, it turns out. They’re in their own little back section, roped off and shrink-wrapped for their protection. Up front, the cozy cafe section serves hot beverages, scones, and kołaczki, along with City News signature chocolate truffles. And on weekends, an old-school coffee shop vibe sets in, as folk and jazz musicians play to singalong crowds who happily slide their change into the tip jar. Other customers simply enjoy a background soundtrack for their reading, browsing, and munching. A chess club plays
BEST LANDSCAPE COMPANY Winner: Christy Webber Landscapes First Runner-up: Patch Landscaping and Snow Removal Second Runner-up: Red Stem Native Landscapes, Inc.
BEST LOCAL CLOTHING DESIGNER Winner: Milk Handmade First Runner-up: Richard Dayhoff Second Runner-up: Squasht
BEST PET ADOPTION OR ANIMAL SHELTER Winner: PAWS Chicago
First Runner-up: One Tail at a Time Second Runner-up: The Catcade Bendición Dry Bar COURTESY CRISTINA TORRES
on Sundays, and City News also regularly hosts silent film screenings complete with live music, just to add to the retro sensation. But it would be a mistake to think of the cafe as merely a 20th-century throwback. For starters, there’s Wi-Fi—in fact, there are three wireless networks linked to three different Internet providers, with speed test data from each posted alongside the passwords. And City News has a robust social media presence: recent posts urged customers to hurry down while Time’s Person of the Year edition was still in stock and to order a box of those chocolate truffles in time for Valentine’s Day. Rather than just a cozy anachronism, City News Cafe feels like a portal to a more hospitable dimension, where the digital and analog manage to peacefully coexist. citynewsstand.com —STEVEN MELENDEZ
BEST PLACE TO BUY INCENSE FROM ACTUAL HIPPIES
Gallimaufry Gallery
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ith the demise of Lakeview’s Waxman Candles last year, finding quality incense in the city got a lot more challenging. Sure, the creepy, sterile, kratom-hawking head shops offering crappy bulk incense from Amazon will do in a pinch. But that assumes you can tolerate five minutes of excruciating fluorescent lighting and navigate past an alarming array of marijuana substitutes that may as well be labeled “unanticipated emergency room visit.” Where is the discerning incense connoisseur to turn? Gallimaufry Gallery, a delightful