From the best area restaurants to favorite retailers and auto dealerships, the 2021 People’s Choice highlights what Tri-Citians love most about our vibrant, diverse and ever-growing communities.
Arts & Entertainment
After taking a one-year hiatus as best annual community event, the Water Follies is back on top for 2021. That’s even despite the pandemic forcing the Water Follies board of directors to cancel the 2020 HAPO Columbia Cup.
Arts & Entertainment
After losing the title in 2020, Crazy Moose is back on top as Best Casino.
Arts & Entertainment
Mike Lundgren, the general manager and an owner of Canyon Lakes Golf Course, never gets tired of seeing his course voted top Golf Course in the People’s Choice awards.
Arts & Entertainment
Fairchild Cinemas is the premier movie theater in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas.
Arts & Entertainment
Joker’s is no stranger to being the People’s Choice for best night venue. Managing partner Max Faulkner said this year’s win will make it “seven or eight.”
Eating & Drinking
Husband and wife team Teng Xayarath and Lilly Tippalak first opened Tip’s Thai House on April 18, 2017, near 27th Avenue in Kennewick. They named it after Lilly.
Eating & Drinking
A Food Network-featured grab-and-go bakery and patisserie, award-winning custom cakes, and a full-service restaurant previously featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives?” What more could you ask for?
Eating & Drinking
Porter’s Real Barbecue has been on a streak — for the fourth year in a row, it has been voted the best barbecue in the Tri-Cities.
Eating & Drinking
For the fourth year in a row, the people of the Tri-Cities want to have breakfast with Joel Watson.
Eating & Drinking
This year’s win is a capstone moment for Bob’s Burgers & Brew.
Eating & Drinking
CG again holds the title of “Best Caterer” for the fifth year in a row.
Eating & Drinking
If you’re looking to unwind at the end of a strenuous and productive workday and you need the perfect cocktail to get the job done, look no further than our reader’s top choice for “Best Cocktails,” Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar.
Eating & Drinking
In 2009, Wes and Shannon Heyden opened their first Roasters Coffee in the parking lot of the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco.
Eating & Drinking
It wasn’t an easy year for one of the Tri-Cities’ best-known local establishments. But after the lockdowns, controversies, allowances and finally openings, Sterling’s is back to looking more like its normal, festive self.
Eating & Drinking
Anthony’s offers Tri-Citians a place to dress your best and have an elegant meal.
Eating & Drinking
For the past nine years, Felix Sanchez has been testing his creations on the palates of Tri-City diners. They must like what he’s serving at El Fat Cat Grill, because they keep coming back for more.
Eating & Drinking
House cured meats, fresh ingredients, and the loving touch of being homemade sends customers to Graze for a healthful meal.
Eating & Drinking
Yogurt Beach has once again taken the gold as offering the best ice cream and frozen yogurt in the Tri-Cities.
Eating & Drinking
After nearly 31 years in Tri-Cities, Casa Mia continues to out-compete multinational chains with its handcrafted Italian cuisine based on recipes developed by Italian-American immigrants to New York in the early 1900s.
Eating & Drinking
Isidro Ortiz helped his mother, Teresa Ortiz, fulfill her dream of owning her own Mexican restaurant, which happened in the Tri-Cities in 2001.
Eating & Drinking
Ice Harbor Brewing Co., co-owned by Mike Hall and Bill Jaquish, has been serving beer and an array of food options to Tri-Citians for 24 years.
Eating & Drinking
LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen customers taste the love of local.
Eating & Drinking
Since 1998, Tim and Saundra Curet and crew have been serving up pizza, breadsticks, specialty sandwiches, wings, burgers, a fresh salad bar, local wines, and 21 on-tap brews.
Eating & Drinking
Tri-Citians will find the best sandwiches in the area at Graze — A Place to Eat. House cured meats, fresh ingredients, and the loving touch of being homemade keeps it holding the gold.
Eating & Drinking
Anthony’s is part of a family of seafood restaurants in the Pacific Northwest with origins dating back to 1969 where it started in Bellevue, and it has mastered serving the best seafood available in the Pacific Northwest.
Eating & Drinking
As far as sports bars go, Kimo’s has a lot to offer.
Eating & Drinking
For nine years, Texas Roadhouse has drawn diners in with mouth-watering steaks — everything from sirloins to prime rib.
Eating & Drinking
Eggs Benedict, omelets, and steak and eggs give the menu the look of a four-star restaurant. There also are salads, sandwiches and burgers to tempt the taste buds.
Eating & Drinking
Richland is home to J. Bookwalter Winery, one of Washington’s oldest wineries. It’s also home to their flagship tasting room, which includes a full-service restaurant, Fiction.
Local Favorites
Established in 2001, Family First Dental has created a strong workplace environment that has allowed the staff to thrive
Local Favorites
Adam and Jen have done it again. The voices of local country station 94.9 The Wolf’s morning show, for four years Adam Lamberd and Jennifer Little have been mixing the daily playlist and setting the tone for the Tri-City commute.
Local Favorites
The Tri-City Americans are the longest running sports franchise in the area and they have earned the respect of the local sports fans for the fourth year in a row.
Local Favorites
Brown is a relative newcomer to the real estate industry.
Local Favorites
Retter & Company Sotheby’s International Realty is a locally owned, full-service real estate office. With 43 years in the business, Dave Retter, founder and owner, still believes in a handshake and that your word is your bond.
Local Favorites
Miller — who has been at KEPR since April of 2019 — wins the Best Sportscaster award for the second consecutive year, and he thinks he knows why.
Local Favorites
KNDU TV News Anchor never expects to be named the People’s Choice “Best News Anchor.”
Local Favorites
Mike McCabe has been living his dream job for the past 25 years. To win this title the second time in the last three years is just a bonus for him.
Local Favorites
Canyon Lakes Golf Course is once again the top Wedding/Event Venue, making it No. 1 four times out of the last five years.
Services
The Pasco-local and family-owned Campbell & Company has done it once again, sweeping two People’s Choice categories — the other being Best Home Services & Home Repair — for the second year in a row.
Services
Make it nine in a row as the favorite appliance store. Fred’s Appliance in Kennewick has “a little something for everybody” looking to upgrade a kitchen, replace a laundry set or outfit a home.
Services
Jason Roy is known for his desire to help families with their cars, whatever shape they’re in. It’s a quality that’s kept Roy’s Garage in east Kennewick successful for seven years.
Services
Banner Bank out of Walla Walla has been named one of the best banks in the United States. Forbes magazine even named it one of the best banks in the world.
Services
Bush Car Wash repeats at the Best Car Wash for 2021. The business — which was sold to Tucson, Arizona-based Mister Car Wash in 2020 — has seven location in the area where Tri-Citians can get a clean car.
Services
Dr. Ben Matheson and his wife Ginger — both Tri-City natives — opened their practice in 2011
Services
Tom Matheson started his painting business just before he met his wife in 1971. Their marriage hasn’t changed too much through the years, but Matheson said the business sure has.
Services
Gesa Credit Union is a nine-time winner in the Best Credit Union category.
Services
When Dr. Sean Simper and his wife, Jennifer, purchased a small family dental practice in the fall of 2017, it was the start of a dream.
Services
Simper is the main attraction at Southridge Dental, and he’s done enough to earn his first People’s Choice award as best dentist. But for Simper, his keys to success are no secret.
Services
You won’t find much information out there about the People’s Choice winner for Best Dry Cleaning.
Services
When you have what the people want, and treat them like family, they keep coming back.
Services
During a time when reaching out to friends and loved ones with encouragement, gratitude or a laugh has never been more important, Lucky Flowers has you covered.
Services
The Dollhouse Salon and Spa has ascended to the top for the second year in a row. “Our goal and vision is to run the funnest salon in the country with the most talented artists,” said the owner Sydney Swaggart.
Services
To say Morgan Bowe was shocked she was voted as the Best Hair Stylist for 2021 is an understatement but she couldn’t be happier or more humbled.
Services
Mere fitness club no more, Pacific Clinic still a winner. The COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t going to sink what was the Tri-City Court Club in Kennewick.
Services
Sandhollow Homes co-owners Adam Hunkapillar and Mark Miller purposely don’t crank out as many homes as possible over the course of a year.
Services
A family-owned- and- operated company based out of Pasco, Campbell & Company has a regional branch in Yakima and service area that extends throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho, serving both residential and commercial customers.
Services
When Kadlec opened its doors in 1944, the hospital was established to care for the Hanford area workers and their families. Today, Kadlec is the Tri-Cities’ only not-for-profit health system serving a population of more than 400,000 people in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.
Services
Smith has been a State Farm agent at his Kennewick location since 2011. And he’s no stranger to winning People’s Choice Awards, having won this category back in 2015, 2016 and 2020. And once again, he’s back on top
Services
After a lifetime in the Tri-Cities, Jeff Kreutz already has a lot.
Services
Queen Spa & Nails is excited to accept the honor of People’s Choice for the Best Nail Salon in the Tri-Cities for 2021.
Services
It’s a nine-year streak of triumph for McCurley Integrity Dealerships. The locally owned series of dealerships notched another win in the Best New Auto Dealer category.
Services
People have a soft spot in their hearts for animals, making Mikey’s Chance the perfect choice for the top non-profit organization in the Tri-Cities for another year. But people know about Mikey’s Chance and the help it gives to dozens of dogs (and a few cats) each year.
Services
Jason Roy is known for his desire to help families with their cars, whatever shape they’re in. It’s a quality that’s kept Roy’s Garage in east Kennewick successful for seven years.
Services
Many people think of yardwork — or Christmas lights — when you mention Senske Services. But the company has become well known for pest control, too.
Services
Whether your furbaby needs a bath, haircut or nail trim, Shannon’s Grooming was chosen as the place to go for the second year.
Services
Best known for her colorful and candid lifestyle imagery, Brittney Kluse has been catching the special moments of Tri-Citians since 2008.
Services
The Tri-Cities’ only local family-owned RV superstore is basking in the glow of its 2021 win.
Services
Unless you’re involved in senior living, you may not know where Solstice Senior Living is in Kennewick.
Services
A nine-time winner of the category, Nouveau has been the Tri-Cities’ top choice since People’s Choice began in 2013. Kris and Jenna Waltze have created a menu of luxurious treatments for women and men.
Services
Monarch makes a return to the top for the first time since 2017.
Services
Les Schwab’s tire company had modest beginnings in Prineville, Ore., under the name of OK Rubber Welders Tire Store. Within a couple of years, Schwab had opened three tire stores, and now Les Schwab Tire Center is a well-known name across the western United States.
Services
“We at Archibald’s are thrilled to win this prestigious award and wish to thank those who voted for us. This title is a badge of honor and continually drives us to a higher standard,” said owner Danny Archibald.
Services
Vista Veterinary is top dog this year in 2021 People’s Choice awards
Services
Megan Williams began her yoga journey at home where she fell in love with the practice of strengthening her body and easing her mind.
Shopping
What started with one pile of bark 28 years ago has blossomed into the year-round, full-service garden center known today as Beaver Bark.
Shopping
Yoke’s Fresh Market remains the leading Best Grocery Store for the sixth year in a row.
Shopping
Make it nine consecutive years for Griggs Ace Hardware, which has swept this category since the beginning.
Shopping
It’s not been around too long, but At Home has already become the Tri-Cities’ favorite home decor store.
Shopping
Luoc and Trang Van Nguyen are no strangers to being named the top jewelers in the Tri-City region.
Shopping
When Concept owner Ernie Graff and his business partner Michael Epps expanded their clothing store in Columbia Center mall to include men’s clothing, they had no idea the outpouring of support they would receive from the Tri-Cities community.
Shopping
When owner Ernie Graff and his business partner Michael Epps opened Concept in Columbia Center mall in 2016, they focused on providing a clothing store that could hone in on customer’s needs and bring a personalized shopping experience to the Tri-Cities community.
