Bar Lounge, Jaunty Goat, Upstairs at the Grill and Weasel and the Bug among the businesses recognised for excellent customer service on Chester’s high street
Businesses from across Chester city centre came together for a prestigious awards ceremony at Storyhouse as the winners of the 2017 CH1ChesterBID Customer Service Awards were revealed.
The awards were introduced in 2015 by CH1ChesterBID to help recognise the shops, restaurants, bars, independent retailers and other businesses that always go the extra mile for customers.
The general public were asked to nominate their favourite city centre stores again this year, with more than 1,500 votes received in total. The top three businesses in 14 different categories then received a mystery shopper visit to determine a winner.
Among the winners on the night were popular eatery Upstairs at the Grill and sister venture Bar Lounge, which picked up the ‘Best Restaurant’ and ‘Best Pub/Club/Bar’ awards respectively for the second year in succession.
Jaunty Goat on Bridge Street was named ‘Best Coffee Shop” and Watergate Street’s vintage toyshop, Weasel and the Bug, held on to the ‘Best Independent Retailer’ award after winning the title in 2016.
Debenhams retained its title as ‘Best Large Retailer’ and Build a Bear Workshop – which scooped two awards in 2016, was again among the winners after being named ‘Best Small Retailer’.
Funky Cow Milkshake Bar on St Werburgh Street was recognised as the ‘Best Food on the Go’ business, whilst the ‘Best Hotel or B&B’ award went to The Coach House Inn on Northgate Street.
Travel agents Deva Travel & Tours held on to the ‘Best Leisure and Lifestyle’ award after picking up the trophy in 2016 and other winners included fresh cosmetics store Lush in the ‘Health and Beauty Retailers’ category, as well as Specsavers, which picked up the award for “Best Health & Beauty Retailer”.
The ‘Best of Grosvenor Shopping Centre’ Award went to art gallery Castle Fine Art,
and Barclays was presented with the ‘Best Professional Services’ award for the second consecutive year.
The final award of the night went to women’s clothing store Chesca, which was named ‘Outstanding BID Member’ of the year.
Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, said: “We’re really proud to have hosted these awards for the third year in succession and there were some fantastic scores across all of the 14 categories.
“The awards are designed to recognise exceptional customer service as we believe it’s a fundamental element of creating a world-class welcome in Chester – it’s one of the things that will make people want to come back to the city time and time again.
“That’s why we think it’s so important to celebrate the fantastic contribution our local businesses and their staff make to Chester city centre every single day. They should all be really proud of their achievements over the past 12 months and our congratulations go to all of this year’s winners.”
The full list of winners and shortlisted businesses was as follows:
Best Coffee Shop
Nominated: Jaunty Goat, Mad Hatters Tearoom & Bakery, The Flower Cup
Winner: Jaunty Goat
Best Food on the Go
Nominated: Gino’s Gelato, Funky Cow Milkshake Bar, Blackstocks
Winner: Funky Cow Milkshake Bar
Best of Grosvenor Shopping Centre
Nominated: Castle Fine Art, Loake, The Perfume Shop
Winner: Castle Fine Art
Best Health & Beauty Retailer
Nominated: Lush, Jo Malone, Holland and Barrett
Winner: Lush
Best Health & Beauty Services
Nominated: Specsavers, Boots Opticians, Inked Up Chester
Winner: Specsavers
Best Hotel or B&B
Nominated: The Grosvenor, Oddfellows, The Coach House Inn
Winner: The Coach House Inn
Best Independent Retailer
Nominated: Corks Out, Grafficks, Weasel & The Bug
Winner: Weasel & The Bug
Best Large Retailer
Nominated: Debenhams, M&S, Wilko
Winner: Debenhams
Best Leisure & Lifestyle
Nominated: Abbey Taxis, Deva Travel & Tours, KingKabs
Winner: Deva Travel & Tours
Best Professional Service
Nominated: Barclays, HSBC, Natwest
Winner: Barclays
Best Pub/Club/Bar
Nominated: Bar Lounge, The Botanist, Liquor & Co.
Winner: Bar Lounge
Best Restaurant
Nominated: Urbano32, Upstairs at the Grill, Olive Tree Brasserie
Winner: Upstairs at the Grill
Best Small Retailer
Nominated: Pandora, Ann Summers, Build-a-Bear Workshop
Winner: Build-a-Bear Workshop
Outstanding BID Member
Winner: Chesca