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Best of the 'Bus 2024

2024 Reader's Poll Winners

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Best Face of Columbus 

  1. Brutus Buckeye         
  2. Jack Hanna     
  3. Jack Nicklaus                                     

Best Local Musician  

Having sold more than 2 million albums in the U.S. and with a touring schedule taking them around the world, Columbus natives Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun have made a name for themselves.

  1. twenty one pilots
  2. McGuffey Lane         
  3. Caamp                                                

Best Hometown Mascot        

A fan favorite, Brutus took home the win for the third year in a row, but was chased closely by Columbus’ two buzzy insects.

  1. Brutus Buckeye
  2. Stinger (Columbus Blue Jackets)      
  3. Bee-thoven (Columbus Symphony Orchestra)

Best New Restaurant 

Check out our story on page 8 to learn more about Cameron Mitchell’s restaurant that won first place.

  1. Valentina’s     
  2. Cento  
  3. Ohana Island Grill                                          

Best Outdoor Dining  

  1. Lindey’s Restaurant & Bar    
  2. Barcelona Restaurant and Bar
  3. Grove City Brewing Co.           

Best Food Coma

Whether you are looking for a nice home-cooked meal or a taste of German food, you can certainly get your fill at any of these spots. Be sure to save room for dessert so you can get a taste of their mouth-watering pies, rich chocolate cake and giant cream puffs.

  1. Der Dutchman
  2. Cap City Fine Diner & Bar
  3. Schmidt’s Sausage Haus und Restaurant                  

Best Barbecue

In a hotly contested category this year, City Barbeque barely took home the win with Ray Ray’s Hog Pit in a close second.

  1. City Barbeque
  2. Ray Ray’s Hog Pit     
  3. Barrel & Boar                                    

Best Wings

  1. Roosters
  2. Hot Chicken Takeover           
  3. Wings Over Columbus                                              

Best Donuts

  1. Buckeye Donuts        
  2. Schneider’s Bakery    
  3. Der Dutchman                                   

Best Ice Cream

Columbus’ homegrown ice cream maker was beat out by this Cincinnati-founded ice cream company that has 12 locations around central Ohio.

  1. Graeter’s Ice Cream   
  2. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams    
  3. Whit’s Frozen Custard                                              

Best Local Pizza      

  1. Tommy’s Pizza          
  2. Donatos Pizza
  3. Dewey’s Pizza                                   

Best Steakhouse        

  1. Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse
  2. The Top Steak House
  3. The Avenue Steak Tavern                                         

Best Burgers   

  1. The Thurman Cafe    
  2. Northstar Cafe           
  3. Grove City Brewing Co.                                            

Best Bakery    

  1. Resch’s Bakery          
  2. Schneider’s Bakery    
  3. Pistacia Vera                                      

Best Cookies   

Taking the nation by storm, Crumbl took home the win this year as it won over the taste buds of Columbus with its cold and warm cookie options.

  1. Crumbl Cookies         
  2. Cheryl’s Cookies       
  3. Lion Cub’s Cookies                                       

Best Place to Drink Your Brunch      

  1. Lindey’s Restaurant & Bar    
  2. Old Bag of Nails        
  3. Kitchen Social                                    

Best Brewery 

  1. BrewDog       
  2. Seventh Son Brewing Co.      
  3. Columbus Brewing Co.  

Best Winery   

  1. Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant           
  2. Plum Run Winery      
  3. Rockside Winery and Vineyards                                           

Best Distillery            

  1. High Bank Distillery Co.       
  2. Watershed Distillery  
  3. Middle West Spirits                                       

Best Retail Wine Selection    

Whether you know it as Giant Eagle or Market District, this supermarket chain is well known by our readers as the best place to get wine and beer, though Weiland’s Market made the top three for both categories for the first time.

  1. Giant Eagle/Market District  
  2. Carfagna’s      
  3. Weiland’s Market                                          

Best Retail Beer Selection     

  1. Giant Eagle/Market District  
  2. Weiland’s Market      
  3. Kroger                                    

Best Happy Hour       

  1. Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern   
  2. The Pearl        
  3. Kitchen Social                                    

Best New Exhibit    

  1. Barbie You Can Be Anything: The Experience at COSI       
  2. Intrinsic Luminescence at Decorative Arts Center of Ohio  
  3. Fine Arts Exhibition at Ohio State Fair                                             

Best Art Gallery

  1. Columbus Museum of Art     
  2. Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center      
  3. Ohio Craft Museum   

Best Public Art Display         

  1. Columbus Museum of Art     
  2. Topiary Park  
  3. Field of Corn (with Osage Oranges)                                      

Best Theater Troupe   

  1. Shadowbox Live        
  2. Columbus Children’s Theatre
  3. Short North Stage

Best Arts Performance (since March 2023)  

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra took home the win this year with its performance of the ethereal, far-out suite written by British composer Gustav Holst. Holding second and third place, will PNC Broadway in Columbus take back its throne next year?

  1. The Planets by Columbus Symphony Orchestra       
  2. Moulin Rouge! The Musical by PNC Broadway in Columbus         
  3. Mrs. Doubtfire by PNC Broadway in Columbus                                          

Best Concert (since March 2023)

With a packed house at the Shoe and decades of award-winning music, it is no surprise Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks took home first place for their concert last August.

  1. Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel    
  2. Buckeye Country Superfest   
  3. Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Alice Cooper                                   

Best Summer Concert Series 

Taking home another win this year, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra delights listeners with everything from pop-star sensations to TBDBITL every summer.

  1. Picnic with the Pops by Columbus Symphony Orchestra     
  1. Grove City Summer Sizzle Concert Series    
  2. Westerville Sounds of Summer Concert Series

Best Downtown (Columbus) Festival  

  1. Columbus Arts Festival         
  2. Jazz & Rib Fest          
  3. Columbus Italian Festival                                          

Best Suburban Festival

Having been named in the top 10 of USA Today’s Best Cultural Festivals of 2023, the Dublin Irish Festival draws in roughly 100,000 people each year. 

  1. Dublin Irish Festival  
  2. Worthington Arts Festival     
  3. Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival                                           

Best Worth the Drive Festival   

  1. Circleville Pumpkin Show    
  2. Lancaster Festival      
  3. Ohio Renaissance Festival                                         

Best Food-Themed Festival   

  1. Jazz & Rib Fest          
  2. Circleville Pumpkin Show    
  3. Columbus Food Truck Festival                                             

Best Drink-Themed Festival  

  1. Columbus Oktoberfest          
  2. Wine and Arts Festival, Grove City  
  3. Columbus Coffee Festival                                         

Best Spot to Gamble  

  1. Hollywood Casino     
  2. Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs                                                       

Best Suburban Fourth of July Celebration  

  1. Upper Arlington         
  2. Dublin            
  3. Westerville                                         

Best Hometown Product

With sweet and savory options ranging from popcorn to dark chocolate-covered gummy bears, this year’s winner has great snack options for almost every taste bud.  

  1. Krema Nut Company
  2. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams    
  3. Brats from Schmidt’s Sausage Truck

Best Farmers’ Market

The Worthington Farmers Market was not only crowned the Best of the ’Bus by our readers, it was also named the Best Farmers Market in the U.S. by the 2024 USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards. 

  1. Worthington
  2. Grove City     
  3. Dublin Market at Bridge Park                                               

Best Event for Volunteering  

  1. Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon    
  2. Pelotonia        
  3. Columbus Arts Festival                                             

Best Charitable Gala  

  1. St. Jude Discover the Dream
  2. Taste the Future for Columbus State Community College
  3. Night of Chocolate by Cancer Support Community                                            

Best Jewelry Store     

  1. Worthington Jewelers
  2. Diamond Cellar         
  3. Meyers Jewelers                                             

Best Spa Day Out 

  1. Woodhouse Spa         
  2. PENZONE Salon + Spa         
  3. Kenneth’s Hair Salons & Day Spas                                       

Best Gym/Fitness Center       

  1. McConnell Heart Health Center        
  2. Planet Fitness 
  3. Orangetheory Fitness                                     

Best Fitness Event 

Whether you are looking to participate in an athletic activity or watch some of the best in the world compete, Columbus has its fair share of fitness events to get involved in.      

  1. Arnold Sports Festival           
  2. Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon          
  3. New Albany Walking Classic®                                            

Best TV Binge           

Grabbing the attention of millions soon after it landed on Hulu, The Bear has captivated viewers with its three seasons of high-stress drama as viewers get a taste of what life is like in the kitchen.

  1. The Bear        
  2. Ghosts
  3. Fool Me Once                                    

Best Podcast 

  1. New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce    
  2. Crime Junkie  
  3. The Daily by The New York Times

Best Weekend Getaway

With two outdoor-focused getaways making the top three, our readers certainly love stepping into nature for a quiet weekend away. 

  1. Hocking Hills State Park       
  2. Put-in-Bay      
  3. Mohican State Park                                        

EDITORS’ PICKS

Best Local Podcast

  • The Dadass Podcast
  • Minimalist Moms
  • Tim May on Ohio State Football       

Best Local Art Gallery

There are plenty of spaces to stop by to enjoy art. Here are a few smaller spaces that are some of our team’s favorites.

  • Loann Crane Gallery at the Greater Columbus Arts Council
  • Wexner Center for the Arts
  • Riffe Gallery

Best Local Company to Make it Big

Homage

The locally-founded apparel company made headlines this year after collaborating with retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce and gaining the attention of actor and business owner Ryan Reynolds. After needing to restock a hat four times because Taylor Swift drove up sales by wearing it, Homage has clearly come a long way in the past 17 years.

Best Suburban Summer Concert Series

Sundays at Scioto

Presented by the Dublin Arts Council, this series is perfect for those summer and fall nights when you want to sit in the grass, have a picnic and enjoy some good music. Head to Scioto Park, home of Leatherlips, for these free concerts.

Best Dance Troupe

BalletMet

Bringing both traditional ballets as well as new age performances to the stage, BalletMet is always pushing the boundaries and offering something unique to its audiences. Even when the performance season is over, the organization runs summer programs for up-and-coming ballet dancers to hone their skills.

HOME WINNERS

Best Home Builder    

  1. Bob Webb Homes      
  2. RH (Romanelli and Hughes) Homes 
  3. Epcon Communities

Best Remodeling Company

  1. Dave Fox Design Build Remodelers 
  2. J.S. Brown & Co.       
  3. The Cleary Company

Best Handyman Company     

  1. Ace Handyman          
  2. Mr. Handyman          
  3. Columbus Handyman

Best Landscape Company 

  1. GreenScapes Landscape Co. 
  2. Five Seasons Landscape        
  3. Hidden Creek Landscaping

Best Roofing Company 

A family-run business since 2011, Newman Roofing is run by Tim and Barbi Newman and their three daughters: Autumn, Alexis and Alyssa.

  1. Newman Roofing      
  2. Able Roofing 
  3. Feazel Inc.

Best HVAC 

  1. Columbus Worthington Air   
  2. Atlas Butler    
  3. Custom Air Conditioning

Best Moving Company          

  1. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®
  2. Black Tie Moving      
  3. E.E. Ward Moving & Storage

Best Window Company     

  1. Pella of Columbus      
  2. Rosati Windows        
  3. Andersen Windows and Doors

Best Plumbing 

  1. Jack L Woods Plumbing        
  2. Eco Plumbers 
  3. West Jefferson Plumbing

Best Credit Union      

  1. KEMBA Credit Union           
  2. Telhio Credit Union   
  3. Wright-Patt Credit Union

Best Bank       

Huntington was founded in Columbus in 1866. Now one of the largest banks in the U.S., this homegrown financial institution is still headquartered Downtown. 

  1. Huntington     
  2. Chase 
  3. FCBank

Best Financial Advisory        

  1. Edward Jones 
  2. Merrill Lynch 
  3. Morgan Stanley

Best Realty Team       

Made up of several local realtors, including several members of the Mathias family, this team has served the central Ohio community for years with more than 85 combined years of experience.

  1. The Mathias Team (Cutler Real Estate)        
  2. The Ackermann Team (RE/MAX)    
  3. The Powell Buehler Group

Best Senior Living Community    

  1. The Coventry 
  2. Friendship Village of Dublin 
  3. The Forum at Knightsbridge

Best Lighting Suppliers    

  1. Capital Lighting         
  2. Ferguson        
  3. Visual Comfort and Co

Best Cabinets 

In a first in Best of the ‘Bus history, two companies have tied for third!

  1. The Cabinet Shop      
  2. Kitchen Kraft Inc.      
  3. TIE: Signature Cabinetry and Daso Custom

Best Outdoorscaping 

  1. Landscapes by Terra  
  2. Cap City Decks & Patios       
  3. Capitol Fence

Best Pools and Hot Tubs     

  1. Omni Pools & Scapes
  2. All Seasons Spas        
  3. Rainbow Hot Tubs and Swim Spas

Best Furniture 

  1. Ethan Allen    
  2. Arhaus
  3. Restoration Hardware

Best Home Inspiration Showroom    

  1. Carr Supply    
  2. Oakland HOME         
  3. Fortin Ironworks