Voting begins for Best of Pine Island
The ballots for the Best of Pine Island, sponsored by the Pine Pine Island Eagle, are available in this week’s Eagle. Only one ballot per person can be submitted and an individual must fill out at least 25 selections. No photocopies will be accepted.
“We invite our readers to take part and help us recognize some of the outstanding businesses on Pine Island,” said Eagle Publisher Scott Blonde. “We know that there are a lot of local businesses that go above and beyond and the Best of Pine Island program is a way for islanders to say thank you to those who do.”
The ballot deadline for the reader’s choice awards is Friday, April 4, and the winners will be announced in The Eagle on April 23.
The categories listed under food and entertainment include bar, chef, bartender, deli, hamburger, fish sandwich, happy hour, ice cream, seafood, pizza, waiter/waitress, breakfast, lunch, dinner and waterfront dining.
The retail portion of the ballot includes art galleries, gift shops, bait and tackle, boat dealers, boat repairs and seafood markets.
The final category includes services, medical and real estate for the ballot of the Best of Pine Island. The categories include accountant, air conditioning and heating, attorney, automotive repair, bank, cabinets, computer services, chiropractor, dentist, electrician, financial service, fishing guide, flooring, hair salon/barber, hair stylist, house watch service, insurance agency, motel/inn, lawn/ landscaping service, marina, marine construction, massage therapist, nail salon, painting contractor, plumber, pool service, real estate agent, real estate agency and service organization/club.
Last year’s winners:
Last year’s winner for the best bar was Bert’s Bar & Grill, Matt at Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern won the best chef, best bartender went to Adrian at Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern, Little Lilly’s Island Deli won the best deli; the best hamburger went to Bert’s Bar & Grill, Lazy Flamingo won the best fish sandwich, Miceli’s Restaurant won the best happy hour, the best ice cream went to Great Lick’s, Deb & The Dynamics and Soap Box were voted as the best local bands, the best seafood went to Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern, Pizza Bella was voted as the best pizza, the best waiter/waitress went to Marisol at Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern, the best breakfast went to the Perfect Cup, Little Lilly’s Island Deli won the best lunch, the best dinner went to Red’s Fresh Seafood House & Tavern and Tarpon Lodge won the best waterfront dining.
The retail category included six winners:
The best art gallery went to WildChild Art Gallery, Pine Bay Gallery & Gifts was voted as the best gift shop, the best bait and tackle went to D&D Bait & Tackle, York Road Marine was voted as the best boat dealer, the best boat repairs went to Four Winds Marina and Andy’s Island Seafood won the best seafood market.
The largest category for the Best of Pine Island included service, medical and real estate. Thirty individuals and or businesses were chosen for the category.
The best accountant went to Pine Island Tax & Accounting, A/C Medic 911 was voted as the best air conditioning and heating, the best appliance repair went to Pine Island Home Care, the best attorney went to Tim Bruehl, St. James Automotive was voted as the best automotive repair, the best bank went to SunTrust, Frank Schooley with Tropical Kitchens was voted as the best cabinets, the best computer services went to Anole Computer Services, the best chiropractor went to Dr. Mark Jeter, Center Of Attention Day Spa won the best spa, the best dentist went to Riverdale Dental Associates, Bob Sangelo was voted as the best electrician, the best financial service went to Sprynal & Associates, Ken Honc was voted as the best fishing guide, the best flooring went to Island Floors, Heidi Talbot won the best hair stylist, the best hair salon/barber shop went to Angles of Matlacha, the best housewatch service went to Pine Island Housewatch, Safety Harbor Insurance was voted as the best insurance agency. the best motel/inn went to Knoll’s Court, the best lawn/landscaping service went to Mike Jendrusiak, Pineland Marina was voted as the best marina, Donkersloot Marine was voted as the best marine construction, the best massage therapist went to Vonnie Bixby, the best painting contractor went to Island Breeze Home Services, Joel’s Plumbing won the best plumber, True Blue was voted as the best pool service, the best real estate agent went to Leroy Lippmann, Pine Island Real Estate was voted as the best real estate agency and best service organization/club went to the Matlacha Hookers.