Voting is over. The polls have closed for the 40th annual Best of Chico. What has endured as a favorite community event all started back in 1985 as a single-page ballot in our weekly print edition of the CN&R. Readers would hand-write their choices on the newsprint page and mail them back in, or submit them in person at our downtown office. As more categories were added, the contest grew each year without interruption, except for the year 2020 when life was put on hold during the pandemic shutdown.
When our weekly News & Review issues became available online in 2001, simultaneously with the print version, it also became easier to review previous Best of Chico issues. By 2005 a special tab was created on our website so you can go directly to those issues in the Best of Chico Archives.
So today, no more paper ballots as all voting is done online, making tabulation more efficient and accurate. We still have human eyes go through all the results looking for any quirks, especially in the first round of nominations that ended on May 23 and where voters could write in any response to a particular category. We always see some odd business nominations by some voters who were either not focused on the actual category, got distracted after typing a few letters, were being witty or were just messing with us. Here are a few examples of humorous responses from the 2025 nominations round:
Bike (for Best Bike Shop)
The bath tub (for Best Place To Drink A Glass Of Wine)
Allegiant Roofing (for Best Tree Service)
THE BEST (for Best Cannabis Dispensary)
Anywhere (for Best Place To Pray/Meditate)
Brian’s Sperm Bank (for Best Bank/Credit Union)
The ones i make (for Best Cocktail)
Firm Foundations Insurance & Benefits Center (for Best Barber Shop)
The actual winners will be revealed on August 22, and you’ll be able to view them here: Best of Chico 2025.
Be the first to comment