MADISON, Wis.– It’s awards season, in Hollywood and Wisconsin! You have until midnight on Sunday, Feb. 28th to nominate your favorite people and places to this year’s ‘Best of Madison’ list.
This year, several of the city’s most well-known business owners say a spot on the list will mean even more.
Carol “Orange” Schroeder, owner of Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street, is so proud of her past wins, she has each one framed. All 30 of them!
“Monroe Street Framing is probably pretty happy when we win,” Schroeder joked.
Orange Tree is a perennial favorite in the ‘Gift Shop/Specialty Store’ category. While the store hasn’t won every year, Schroeder has a theory on that.
“Madison Magazine dropped our category for a little while,” she said. “Because they got bored with us! They’re like, ‘Too many times. They’ve won too many times. We need to give someone else a chance!’”
Stella’s Bakery is another top contender year after year in the ‘Best Bread Bakery’ category.
“It’s good to feel that love,” explained Jason Harder, head baker at Stella’s.
After a tough year with no Capitol Square Farmers’ Market, Harder, reigning ‘Best Pastry Chef’ himself, is hoping the bakery will soon have something to celebrate.
“We don’t quite know when everything’s going to go back to normal,” he said. “But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. And we know that soon, we’ll be able to have bigger events like that.”
Schroeder agreed.
“It’s a great feeling to know our customers have faith in what we’re doing,” she said. “And they keep coming back!”
Madison Magazine has received a record number of nominations so far this year: more than 140,000. After Sunday, each category will be whittled down to the top six vote-getters. On April 1, the final ballot will go live.
Click here for your last chance to submit a nomination!
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