BUSINESS PRODUCTS
Best Auto Dealer (Domestic)
By earning Gold in this category for two years running, Dick Smith Ford is clearly in the driver’s seat with our readers, who agree that price and selection are the factors that set automobile dealers apart. Making this category a real horserace, Thoroughbred Ford lives up to its name and charges home with Silver, offering new and used vehicles and superior service. Molle Chevrolet carries the GM banner in these awards, winning Bronze on the strength of its new and used car fleet, its service and more than 40 years of experience.
Best Auto Dealer (Foreign)
With locations in the region’s two most affluent counties, Johnson and Platte, Superior Lexus knows where to prospect for Gold. Its vehicle selection, repair and maintenance make it the top pick this year, and the baseline product, the Lexus—well, its contribution to luxury on wheels speaks for itself. Baron Automotive Group, from the Mini Cooper to the 414-horsepower 3 Series Coupe 4.0L BMW, offers a Silver-winning lineup. And Jay Wolfe Acura, part of an auto group celebrating more than half a century of success, earns the Bronze.
Best Corporate Gifts
Six. Years. Running. That should tell you everything you need to know about this year’s Gold medalist, Hall’s Kansas City. The enormous selection of elegant items and the distinctive wrapping represent not just the best, but the best of Kansas City. Of course, sometimes, a truly standout gift is one you don’t keep—you eat. That’s what makes Christopher Elbow Artisan Chocolates our Silver winner. Bronze honors were split three ways in a reader balloting tie between Tiffany & Co., Meierotto Midwest Jewelers and Harry and David.
Best Electronics Store or Chain
The digital age has been very good to Best Buy, a company whose roots go back to home and car stereo. Today, computers, accessories and all manner of electronics in stock help make Best Buy the Gold standard. The Apple Store, riding an i-wave of iPads, iPhones, iPods, iTunes and more, is the Silver honoree. And Nebraska Furniture Mart proves that it’s a lot more than recliners, bedroom sets and patio furnishings by earning Bronze for its impressive selection of accessories and electronic gizmos.
Best Florist
When much is riding on the success of a corporate event, the little things can make a big difference. Case in point: Floral arrangements. This year’s Gold honoree—The Fiddly Fig—is a familiar name, having earned reader plaudits for that honor in six straight years of balloting (twice in ties, the last four outright). With more than 30 years in business and a full staff complement of 30, Fiddly Fig is able to meet floral needs for all occasions. Trapp and Company, a Westport-area fixture for more than
40 years, turns in another Silver performance, while Sidelines Custom Floral Designs breaks into Best of Business as a Bronze winner.
Best Jeweler
Year in and year out, this category is where the competition gets harder than the Hope Diamond. And this year’s Gold standard is set by Meierotto Midwest Jewelers, a family-owned independent jeweler founded in 1979. The name of that Northland boutique has become become synonymous with fine jewelry, as have those of two other Kansas City-area gems: Tivol, our Silver winner this year, with three locations to serve the North, the Plaza district and Johnson County, and Bronze-winning Helzberg Diamonds, founded in KC in 1915, but with 234 stores across the nation today.
Best Liquor Store/Wine Seller
“So many choices, so little time.” That simply has to be on the mind of anyone perusing the wares of Lukas Liquor Superstore. Our readers’ Gold-winning selection offers an astonishing selection of fine wines and spirits, as well as a vast collection of domestic, craft and imported beers. Blanketing the Missouri side with four locations from Lee’s Summit to Parkville, Gomer’s earns the Silver this year. Unbound by the operating limits of Kansas liquor laws, Gomer’s becomes something of a one-stop shop for outfitting your man cave. And the wine merchants at Cellar Rat, with more than 800 brands and varieties to choose from, take the Bronze.
Best Men's Apparel
It’s a lot like a heavyweight fight—with really, really great accessories. Nordstrom and Hall’s Kansas City it seems, have been battling it out for ages in both men’s and women’s apparel in this category. This year, the voting for Gold in men’s wear tilts to Nordstrom, with its varied selections of everything from suits to dress-down ensembles of jeans and sneakers. Hall’s Kansas City, which opened its doors just three years after founder J.C. Hall launched that little greeting card company of his,takes Silver, offering its own selections of clothing and reaffirming a place for elegance in men’s fashion. And a solid performance with voters wins the Bronze for Jos. A. Bank, where competitive pricing is never out of style—and, with five locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, never out of reach, either.
Best Women's Apparel
The “S” may be backwards in the logo that graces the storefronts for Standard Style, but trust us: Nothing else about this business is. That’s why readers have made this two-location boutique, based in Leawood, the Gold winner for women’s apparel. The rising upstart operates from two locations, one on the Country Club Plaza, and one in Town Center Plaza. Nordstrom, the retailer of fine apparel that hails from Seattle, turns in a strong Silver finish on the strength of its wide selection of women’s fashions and accessories. And once again, hometown favorite Hall’s Kansas City resonates with readers; the longtime retail magnet on the Plaza and Crown Center brings home the Bronze, no doubt on the strength of its offerings of clothing, jewelry, gifts and more. 
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