Best Auto Dealers-Domestic
Superior Chevrolet on Shawnee Mission Parkway is the Kansas City Area's #1 discount Chevy dealer and has the largest parts department in the area as well as a direct insurance repair body shop. These are just a few of the reasons why it drives away with this year's Gold. Crossing the finish line with the Silver is Bob Allen Ford of Overland Park, powered by its commitment to the highest levels of service and support. The Bronze goes to Jay Wolfe Chevrolet Oldsmobile on 103rd Street, the lynchpin of the Wolfe Group, a mega dealer that is among the nation's 50 largest.
Best Auto Dealers-Foreign
Swapping first place finishes with Aristocrat for several years now, Baron BMW of Merriam takes the Gold. As KC's only BMW dealer, Baron BMW prides itself as much on its world-class service as on its world-class autos and jazzy facilities. Aristocrat Motors, also of Merriam, comes in a close second and nabs the Silver. In business since 1963, Aristocrat offers a dazzling sample of Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Land Rover and SAAB. Superior Lexus in South Kansas City and up north puts the Northland on the import car map with its strong Bronze-worthy showing.
Best Corporate Gifts
No category shows the eclectic tastes of KC more clearly than this one. Ingram's readers with a taste for the finer things prefer Hall's Kansas City. The swank Plaza and Crown Center department store wins the Gold and secures its reputation as a local tradition. Those readers with a taste for tasty things voted the Silver to Topsy's, another Kansas City tradition, but this one best known for popcorn. Speaking of traditions, and completing the range of choices, the Best of Kansas City snares the well-deserved Bronze.
Best Office Equipment Dealer
Had Ingram's been around as long as Hotz Business Solutions, Hotz would surely have won at least one of our top awards 67 years running. Now part of the Toshiba Company, Hotz wins the Gold for its wide range of outstanding products and its legendary service. Office Max breaks through this years with its multiple locations and excellent prices to win the Silver. The strong Bronze performance by Kross Office Outfitters is still another sign that Kansas City, Kansas has come back to life and that Ingram's readers know it.
Best Florist
Frequent winner Trapp & Company on Main Street just north of the Plaza gets a Gold bouquet. Ingram's readers enjoy its range of exceptional services, including interior design and private garden assistance. The Fiddly Fig, an indispensable part of the Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City offers a wide variety of flower designs and gift options. The store maintains its track record of strong finishes with a Silver laurel. There is no better indication of the revival of the Crossroads neighborhood just south of downtown than the Bronze won this year by Studio Dan Mieners at 1700 Wyandotte.
Best Jeweler
The competition may be increasing, but Tivol customers aren't noticing. They have awarded this Kansas City landmark, now in two locations, a Gold for still another year. By specializing in diamond jewelry, Tivol Jewels, which was established in 1910, has maintained its distinctive niche. Meierotto's Midwest Jewelry keeps the Northland sparkling and once again takes the Silver. Mazzarese Fine Jewelry has brightened many a life in Leawood and the surrounding vicinity as it adds a Bronze to its luster.
Best Liquor Store/ Wine Seller
Don't be fooled by the homely name. Ingram's readers are surely not as they once again award Gomer's Fine Wines & Spirits the Gold for serving up a heady brew of fine wines and liquors. Berbiglia Wine & Spirits, with its 14 area stores and its quick and friendly service, moves up this year on the charts and takes home the Silver. Lukas Liquors Superstores on West 110 Street has an exceptional range of products and enough customers who appreciate it to secure the Bronze.
Best Men's Apparel
This award begins and ends at the Country Club Plaza. Mark Shale captured enough customer hearts to win the Gold award this year. Its cornerstone Plaza store has a reputation not only for the uncompromising quality and exceptional style of its clothes. but also for its exceptional service. Enough Johnson County men meanwhile have been beating a path to the justifiably renowned Nordstrom, one of the nation's leading fashion retailers, at Oak Park Mall to earn the store a Silver. The Bronze goes to multiple award-winner, Hall's Kansas City. Halls has two locations in Kansas City, Hall's Crown Center and Plaza.
Best Women's Apparel
Still another Country Club Plaza store wins top honors in this highly competitive category. Sak's Fifth Avenue may not have started in Kansas City--we don't even have a Fifth Avenue--but it has attracted more than enough local customers to seize the Gold. Its Plaza neighbor, Hall's Kansas City, wins still another well-deserved Silver, a sign of its appeal across the gender board. Nordstrom likewise shows its diverse retail attraction by winning a Bronze in the women's category as well as in the men's.
