Ballito has spoken! Over 257 000 votes decided the winners of this year’s Best of Ballito Readers’ Choice Awards, the biggest yet.

Now in its fourth year, the competition celebrated a record 234 categories (representing 1 928 unique businesses), recognising everything from top eateries and retailers to standout service providers across the North Coast. This makes the competition likely the widest poll of business perception in local history.

You can find a full list of every winner on pages 35, 36 and 37, with a packed Best of Ballito feature from pages 12 to 34.

As always, categories were decided by public vote alone, ensuring every winner is the community’s choice. That makes the annual awards a fantastic way to find trusted local recommendations across almost every business category imaginable.

All winners, along with second and third place in each category, can be found at bestofsouthafrica.co.za/ballito – perfect for reference throughout the year.

That listing has proven to be a huge boost for top-three finishers over the past four years.

“Winning this award has made a tremendous difference for our business,” said Barry Bowditch, who has won Best Photographer in every edition of the awards.

“It feels like so many people are finding us this way, it is the most wonderful thing.”

For Hirsch’s Ballito, four-time winners of Best Home Appliance Store, the awards are a source of team morale and pride in the wider company.

“Our Ballito staff are always so proud! It is a fantastic acknowledgement of their commitment to great service to the North Coast community,” said Hirsch’s spokesperson, Glenda Thompson.
“The whole branch gets together to have a photo taken with the certificate, and the photo appears at the National Morning Meeting and in the monthly newsletter.”

Seelan Pillay, operations manager of the Dolphin Coast Retailers Group – which includes four-time Best Liquor Store winner TOPS Lifestyle Centre – said the team look forward to the Best of Ballito every year.

“We are extremely proud to have been consistently voted the winner and it is proof that all of the team’s hard work pays off,” said Pillay.

“We display the certificates in-store and share the news on social media every year – it has become a part of our brand.”

Alongside Bowditch, Hirsch’s and TOPS Lifestyle, 28 other local businesses deserve recognition for winning at least one category in every edition of the awards over the last four years, truly the best-of-the-best according to the voting public!

They are: 45 on Eat Street, Alchemy, Araujo Attorneys, Ballito ISP, Ballito Self Storage, Bird & Co, Collar & Comb, Coricraft, Engen Ballito, Exclusive Books, Flag Animal Farm, IPSS Medical Rescue, IPSS Security, La Piazza, Lianca Dookran Physiotherapist, Lovisa, Mangwanani Ballito, Melanie Coetzee Biokineticist, Mersat, Mozambik Ballito, Netcare Alberlito Hospital, RE/MAX Dolphin Realtors, Simply Models KZN, Sportsman’s Warehouse, The Waterberry Coffee Shoppe, Typo, Virgin Active Ballito and Woolworths Lifestyle Centre.

Congratulations to all the winners!

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