Congratulations to TribLIVE’s 2024 Best of the Best winners and finalists and thank you to everyone who nominated and voted!
Each year, we invite our readers and the public at large to nominate and vote for their favorite local businesses across Southwestern Pennsylvania to be named the Best of the Best.
The program kicks off in July when readers submit nominations to identify the top local businesses in each category. The top 5 nominees in each category then move on to the ballot for final voting. Votes name Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each category. Awardees will be announced December 12, 2024 online and in a special edition of our print publications.
While the business categories are chosen by Trib Total Media, our readers vote for the winners. Trib Total Media acknowledges that some winners might not exactly fit the category description, but we report the results as expressed by our readers.
Have questions about Trib Total Media’s Best of the Best Community Choice Awards? See our list of Frequently Asked Questions, complete the form below or call 412-320-7872
Want your business to be part of Best of the Best? Click here for more information!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Best of the Best?
TribLIVE’s Best of the Best Community Choice Awards is an annual people’s choice event designed to honor the best businesses, events and organizations across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
When is it?
Nominations begin July 20 and end August 3. Voting begins September 21 and runs through October 5. Winners will be announced December 11, 2025.
How are businesses nominated?
Nominations are collected through a write-in phase. From July 20 – August 3, readers will have the chance to nominate their favorite local businesses and organizations in over 120 categories.
To nominate, navigate to the ballot for the region in which you live then find the appropriate section and category and begin typing the company’s name. If the company has a Google Maps listing, it will appear in a dropdown. Click on the correct listing to select it as your nominee. If no result appears, simply type the full name of the company. Then, click the Nominate button.
On your first visit, you will be prompted to complete a short registration form in order to nominate.
You can then continue nominating in other categories. When you are finished nominating, simply close the window. There is no “Submit” button. Nominations are logged as the ‘Nominate” buttons are clicked.
Individuals can nominate once per category during the nomination phase.
How can I vote for a business?
The voting period runs from September 21-October 5. The finalists listed on the voting ballot are based on the results of the nomination period. The top 5 nominees in each category make it to the final ballot.
The finalists on the voting ballot consist of the top five nominees from the nomination round. New companies cannot be added at this stage. To vote for a company, find its category on the ballot and select “Vote” next to its name. You can then continue voting in other categories. If you click the vote button, your vote has been recorded. There is no final “Submit” button.
You can vote once per category throughout the voting period.
What’s the difference between nominating and voting?
Similar to a primary election, the nomination phase identifies the businesses that will appear on the final ballot. Then, during the voting phase, votes are submitted to identify the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.
Does my business have to advertise/pay to be nominated/win? No. No purchase is required to participate in the competition or to win the competition. However, advertising helps because it is the best way to remind the voters about your business and what category you’d like to be considered for – much like political candidates advertise to get their name out to the public.
Also, we would not be able to do this competition every year without our advertisers. It costs a lot of time and money to do a competition like this and selling advertisements helps compensate us for the costs.
How can a business make it to the ballot?
A business has to be one of the top 5 nominees in their category in order to make it to the voting ballot.
How can my company increase its chances of being nominated or voted for in the program?
The best strategy for earning the title of Best of the Best is by providing an outstanding customer experience! We also encourage businesses to use resources like social media, emails, websites, even in-store signage and handouts to remind your customers, vendors, neighbors, family, friends to nominate and vote. We also offer highly discounted, highly visible advertising packages to help you reach your target audience and stand out from the competition. Offering prizes or discount-related incentives to obtain nominations and votes is strictly prohibited and may result in company disqualification.
How many times can I nominate/vote? An individual can nominate ONCE PER CATEGORY during the nomination phase and ONCE PER CATEGORY during the voting phase! You get one nomination and one vote per category – make it count!
Do I have to nominate/vote in every category in order for my entry to count?
No! You can nominate or vote in as many or as few categories as you would like. However, nominations from email addresses that only nominate in one category may be flagged as fraudulent because our software thinks they look fake. To be clear, nothing is automatically disqualified; however, email addresses with just one vote may be subject to investigation. We encourage everyone to engage with as many categories as possible across the ballot.
Why don’t you have a category for _______? We get this question a lot. As much as we’d like to have a category so every single business South Western Pennsylvania could participate, it’s simply not possible. We select categories based on what categories have been popular in the past. Also, we require 4-5 nominees on the final ballot, we need enough businesses to support the category for it to be viable. But, if you have a suggestion for a category email us at marketing@triblive.com.
When I nominate, why does the business show up as _______?
What businesses show up depends upon two things: your location and how the business is listed in their Google Business Profile. Locations are determined by your location. Google Business is NOT the same thing as Google Search or Google Maps. Google Search is a search engine. Google Maps is a map. Google Business is a tool managed by Google that helps a business manage their online profile–which includes Google Search and Google Maps. It’s free. For more information, go to https://www.google.com/business/.
Any restrictions on nominating and voting?
When nominating and voting, individuals must use their own email address. Email addresses must be valid. The system we are using has a complex algorithm to help eliminate potential voter fraud. Any votes that trigger the system are reviewed. Votes that cannot be verified or show signs that they may be fraudulent are eliminated.
Are businesses allowed to use customer emails to vote for themselves?
NO. The ballot platform we use is well-versed in identifying and eliminating many of the ways companies attempt to commit voter fraud. They’ve even implemented new features this year to further identify and mitigate potential fraud. We are confident that this platform ensures we have the most honest and valid competition we can.
Can employees nominate and vote for the businesses they work for?
Sure. But, no more than 10% of a company’s nominations or votes can be from internal email addresses.
Can chain stores and franchises be nominated? We prefer to see locally-owned small businesses, however some categories just don’t have that many locally-owned businesses. It’s up to the voters to say what/who they support.
How do I find out who the winners are? Winners will be announced in a special section of the Tribune-Review and all Trib Total Media weekly and monthly newspapers on Thursday, December 11, 2025. Subscribe today and have it delivered to your door!
How are finalists and winners notified? Trib Total Media marketing and advertising departments make every attempt to notify our finalists and winners throughout the program, primarily by phone, email and US mail. If you are a finalist but have not yet been notified, we apologize. Please complete this form and we will be in touch!
There’s incorrect information on the ballot. Can you fix it? Whoops, sorry about that! We do our best to ensure all information is accurate and up-to-date but mistakes happen. Please email any corrections to marketing@triblive.com and be sure to include Best of the Best in your subject line.
Do you have any marketing materials to help businesses promote themselves? So glad you asked – we absolutely do! You can find them here: !
What comes with being named a winner or finalist? Winning or placing among the top two finalists in the TribLIVE Best of the Best Community Choice Awards is a prestigious achievement that reflects a company’s excellence in its respective industry. The winners and finalists are published online and announced in a special section which serves as a trusted resource for people searching for the best places to eat, shop, receive services and more. Companies can also showcase their accomplishments by using our free winner and finalist logos and purchasing winner plaques, finalist certificates and window clings that proudly display their achievement. Contact us through the form below to learn more about these opportunities.
Fair Voting Rules
We know the Best of the Best contest matters to the community and to the businesses and organizations that are nominated. That’s why we take its integrity so seriously. We expect all nominees to abide by the following rules of fair play, and we reserve the right to exclude any nominee found to be in violation of these or other rules posted here.
Nominees/entrants are prohibited from soliciting votes by offering payments or exchange of value of any kind.
Individuals may nominate 1 business per category per region and may vote for 1 business per category per region.
We do have systems in place to detect fraudulent voting. When we see evidence of fraudulent voting, we may eliminate all suspect votes at our discretion. In extreme cases, we will remove entrants, as well.
No more than 10% of a business’s votes can come from internal email addresses, with the exception of the ‘Best Place to Work’ category.
Our commitment to integrity is simple and iron-clad: We let the voters decide – and we never, ever pick favorites. Not even the biggest advertisers get any special treatment.
Some of the ways we guard the integrity of the contest include:
- We run a two-stage contest – like having a primary and a general election – to minimize the chances of fluke winners getting chosen out of a big crowd.
- We run the contest on a neutral voting platform run by outside experts with no ties to local businesses.
- The voting platform has built-in tools to detect and prevent fraud.
Attention Past Winners
Show your pride with an official TribLIVE Best of the Best plaque! Click here to order yours today.
