ENCINITAS — Representatives from 180 local businesses and organizations celebrated Wednesday after being voted the cream of the crop in the Best of North County Awards.
Winners from each of the 272 categories — which included Food and Beverage, Lifestyle and Beauty, Activities and Entertainment, Services, and many more — collected their medals during a special event on July 17 at the Leucadian bar.
The Coast News launched the contest last year, and it is the only “Best of” event to focus solely on North County companies, groups and services.
The community provided almost 750 nominations, and 55,000 people voted online, nearly double the number from 2023.
Laura Harrelson is the Event Sales Director at TERI Campus of Life in San Marcos, which has won four awards, including gold for “Best Banquet Facility.”
“It feels amazing, especially as we’re a non-profit that for the last 44 years has been serving the special needs community,” Harrelson said. “Now that we have these social enterprises and we’re able to invite the public in to enjoy our campus, it’s an amazing feeling knowing that we’ve been voted for these four categories because the community is coming in and getting a glimpse of what we do and in the process, supporting it.”
Carlsbad Pet and Feed also had a great evening.
“We won Best Pet Store for the second year in a row,” said Carlsbad Pet and Feed owner Karen Moore. “I think anytime you can be a stand-out in a community, it’s always important.”
Haley Riggi from MainStreet Oceanside was thrilled with their two awards for “Best Downtown” and “Best Shopping.”
“It’s very rewarding,” Riggi said. “We do a lot for our community, and it feels really good to be recognized for it.”
Best of North County magazines are now available in print and digital form, featuring information about the winners.
