The finalists for Ashton Town Team's very first Independent Business Awards have now been confirmed.
In September, Ashton Town Team launched the Ashton Independent Retail Awards, sponsored by Bromleys solicitors LLP.
The awards recognised the wealth of independent local businesses within the town centre and finalists highlighted the wide range of successful businesses in the town.
Here are the finalists:
Café/Takeaway Finalists:
Eclectic Avenue – Market Avenue
Mozaic Café – Warrington Street
Tarp’s Filipino Fusion – Market Hall
Wendy & Mandy’s Cafe – Market Hall
WINNER: Nat’s Bombay Kitchen – Market Hall
Nat's Bombay Kitchen
Clothing/Footwear Finalists:
New Shu – Market Avenue
Seraphina Centre – Stamford Street
Decisions Clothing – Fletcher Square
Fizz Fashion – Wellington Street
WINNER: Room 14 – George Street
Room 14
Fresh Food Retail:
Briggs Butchers – Ashton Market Hall
Pasta & Basta – Stockport Road
Fruits & Roots – Ashton Market Ground
Pearsons Butchers – Ashton Market Hall
WINNER: The Cheese Stall – Ashton Market Hall
Hair, Health & Beauty Finalists:
Bliss Hair Salon – Wood Street
Hair By Jodie – Wellington Road
The Hair Studio – Stamford Street
Dionne’s – Stamford Street
WINNER: Mary Haworth – Warrington Street
Mary Haworth
Home Furnishing/Textiles Finalists:
Albion Mill Carpets – Penny Meadow
Flowers By Lizzie – Albion Trading Estate
Williams Bros Carpets – Warrington Street
WINNER: Bargain Textiles – Ashton Market Hall
Bargain Textiles
Jewellers Finalists:
Cathedral Jewellers – Market Street
Harrington & Hallworth – Old Street
Gems – Ashton Market Hall
Argenti Jewellers – Market Avenue
WINNER: Grade A – Market Avenue
Grade A Jewellers
Restaurant Finalists:
San Rocco – Stamford Square
Pasta & Basta – Stockport Road
Rosie’s – Ladysmith Shopping Centre
Mozaic Café – Warrington Street
WINNER: Lily’s Vegetarian – Oldham Road
Lily's Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
Specialist Retail Finalists:
Crystal Carol’s – George Street
Jacky’s Floral Designs – Market Ground
Flowers By Lizzie – Albion Trading Estate
The Off Licence – Ashton Market Hall
WINNER: Rewind Collectables – Wellington Street
Rewind Collectables
Tech/Electrical Winner
Microtech – Penny Meadow
Microtech Computers
Furniture Winner
Ashton Discount – Stamford Street
Ashton Discount
The Bromleys Sponsor Choice Award Winner
Antonio’s Restaurant – Katherine Street
Antonio's
The Ashton Town Team Special Award
Cameraz – Stamford Street
Cameraz
The nominations formed shortlists for each category which had to be scrutinised by the judging team of Jackie Moores from Tameside College, Pauline Town from The Station, Luke Mirfin from Tameside Markets and chaired by Jan Lord from Guide Bridge MOT and Service.
Jan said: “This year has been a challenging time for all the businesses in Ashton and choosing a winner from the hundreds of worthy entrants has been a task and a half!
“Every entrant is a winner in my eyes and deserves to be recognised, but unfortunately we did have to choose a winner in each category. Thank you to everyone involved in the process, the people who took their time to vote, the judging panel, the sponsors and Ashton Town Team for arranging the awards. Looking forward to 2021 already to recognise even more excellent local businesses. Remember to always SHOP LOCAL to support our local economy.”
Bromleys Solicitors, who sponsored this year’s awards, were happy to be working with Ashton Town Team. As lead sponsors, they were delighted to present Antonio’s Pizzeria e Ristorante as the winners of the Sponsor’s Choice Award.
Bromleys’ Paul Westwell said: “As you can imagine, this was a tough decision as we are lucky to have such a wide array of independents in our town centre. Restaurants have really suffered during the Covid-19 crisis and Antonio’s took part in the Government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme in August and have continued with this offer to encourage people back - adapting the restaurant to ensure social distancing and that they are Covid-19 compliant.”
Kevin Taylor, chair of Ashton Town Team, said: “I’d like to thank Bromleys for their support and Jan with the other judges who have had a challenging time picking winners from the finalists. These awards certainly acknowledge the unique bespoke service provided by many of the independent businesses in our town centre. There was over 1,600 nominations received which is a tribute to all those small shops who work so hard in our town. We need to celebrate businesses like these which make Ashton-under-Lyne a perfect destination for quality, value and service for shoppers.”
