The votes are in your hands! The Tampa Bay Choice Awards are here, giving residents the chance to recognize their favorite local businesses, restaurants, attractions and more across the Bay area.
The awards celebrate outstanding local businesses throughout the Tampa Bay region through a public nomination phase, finalist selection, public voting and winner selection.
"Our readers know this community better than anyone. The Tampa Bay Choice Awards give them the opportunity to recognize the local businesses they've come to trust and recommend," TBO founder Sam Frost said. "Local businesses are the backbone of our communities, and this is a chance for residents to show their appreciation for the people and places that make Tampa Bay special."
How to nominate a business
It’s time to put your favorites in the spotlight. Visit the Tampa Bay Observer’s (TBO) Tampa Bay Choice Awards page to nominate a business by entering the business name, your name, email address and why the business deserves recognition.
Want to recognize a specific employee or owner? Voters can also nominate individuals who go above and beyond and share why they deserve special recognition.
Nominations are open to individuals ages 18 and older. Each nomination must be confirmed through an email link sent to the nominator. Unconfirmed nominations will not be counted.
Rules
Nominations and voting are free, and purchases will not increase a business’s chances of winning.
Nominations are open through Aug. 31 at 11:59 p.m.
Finalists will be announced Sept. 8, when public voting will open and continue through Oct. 4 at 11:59 p.m.
Winners will be announced Oct. 15, 2026.
Businesses are eligible if they have a physical location serving the Tampa Bay area, are actively operating in good standing and have not engaged in unlawful activity.
Award categories are established and maintained by TBO, and nominations will be assigned to categories deemed appropriate.
Finalists in each category will be selected based on a combination of nomination volume and editorial review.
During the voting period, voters are limited to one vote per person, per category, per day.
Votes generated through bots, scripts, macros or invalid email addresses will not be counted.
Winners will be determined by TBO based on public voting results and evaluations by the editorial team.
Winners and finalists will never be required to pay a fee to maintain their recognition or be included in published results.
Sponsorships
Categories and awards may be supported by paid sponsors for promotional placement.
Sponsors have no role in nominations, finalist selection or judging and are not eligible to win any category they sponsor.
Winner awards
Tampa Bay Choice Award winners will receive trophies or plaques to display at their businesses.
Award logos, seals and badges are the property of TBO. By participating as a nominator, voter or recognized business, participants agree to TBO publishing and promoting business names, trade names, logos, photographs and locations.
For more information, visit TBO. For additional questions about the Tampa Bay Choice Awards, voters can contact TBO directly.
Now, get those voting fingers ready and start nominating your favorite local businesses!
TBO reserves the right to modify, suspend or cancel the awards at any phase due to fraud, technical failures, tampering or other factors that may impact the integrity of the awards.