Paul Mahoney started with a farm stand that quickly expanded by 1959 into the original Mahoney’s Garden Center located in Winchester. Today five out of six children work in this family-owned industry leader that has eight locations in Winchester, Tewksbury, Wayland, Concord, Brighton, Falmouth, Osterville, Chelmsford, and Woburn.  Mahoney’s is a full service garden center with a wide variety of products and services for all types of customers, from home owners to professional landscapers. Mahoney’s also operates a state-of-the-art wholesale growing greenhouse in Woburn, where they grow many of their own Garden Lover's brand of annuals and perennials under 5 acres of glass!  They even have a Christmas tree farm in Nova Scotia.  A visit to Mahoney’s is an experience for the whole family with great displays and activities for the young and old.  Expert advice, friendly customer service, organic alternatives, and a great selection of high quality plants and products make Mahoney’s Garden Center a retail jewel.

www.mahoneysgarden.com

Mason & Madison
Rookie of the Year

Mason & Madison was launched by Liz White in 2003 as a web business with word of mouth referrals.  By January of 2009, a full-fledged brick and mortar store opened its doors in Middleton.  Old fashioned customer service is the name of the game – greeting customers by name, suggestive selling, sending handwritten thank you cards after sales, complimentary coffee, treats for little ones and free gift wrapping are all standard fare.  Liz’s gift creations are always beautiful and creative and if you don’t see what you are looking for, just let her know and she will find it for you.  Liz supports local artists by inviting them to rent space in her shop where they display their creations for sale and by placing cooperative ads in local magazines to help promote their products.  She is rooted in the community and is well loved by her customers -- a great recipe for long-term success!

www.masonandmadison.com

Kelly's Roast Beef
Restaurant of the Year

Kelly’s Roast Beef has been in business, on Revere Beach, for nearly 60 years.  Since its inception in 1951, Kelly’s not only has consistently served high quality, fresh food but also has become an integral member of the Revere community through its generous support of many community projects and organizations, including its steadfast support and sponsorship of Revere’s annual Sand Sculpting Festival.  Kelly’s Roast Beef has, throughout the years, also expanded to include five locations in the communities of Revere, Saugus, Medford, Danvers, and Natick.  Kelly’s has become a contributing, helpful member of each of these communities.

Kelly’s Roast Beef proudly supports local schools and community organizations through their “Delicious Donation Program,” in which Kelly’s dedicates a timeframe in support of a specific school or cause during which 25% of the sales generated from dinner gets donated.

Kelly’s Roast Beef began as a family owned and operated business, and it remains so.  Many of the employees and managers have been with the organization for more than 30 years.  Throughout the years, the quality of its food and its service has remained steadfast and strong.

www.kellysroastbeef.com

“Kelly’s Roast Beef is a true success story—a strong, thriving local business that cares about and contributes to its communities and constituencies”
– Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein (Revere)

Don Muller Gallery
Creative Display

Don Muller has a unique philosophy of visual merchandising that focuses on longevity and timelessness as opposed to constant never ending change.  The stunning displays of the Don Muller Gallery in Northampton will entice you into this charming gallery whose one-of-a-kind interior reflects and compliments the exceptional artwork it presents.  Neil Homestead, a woodworking craftsman, brings Don's vision to life with his handmade shelves and display cases.   For 30 years, Don and Neil have collaborated to create a retail space that allows customers, to move easily throughout the gallery and to fully view each of its distinctive pieces. The Gallery features an outstanding collection of museum quality crafts and fine jewelry from over 400 American artists. The Gallery is committed to being the perfect venue for award winning artists, local talent, and emerging artisans to display their crafts.  Don has won the Niche Magazine award for Top Craft Retailer 19 years in a row.

www.donmullergallery.com

Izzy's Emporium
Creative Concepts

When you say the word “different”, you think of Izzy’s in Andover.  Creativity runs wild in this chic shop.  From Izzy’s own line of cosmetics to the architectural salvage décor.
Uncle Izzy had a dream; to bring affordable designer clothing to all women.  In 1950 his discount shops were born and in 2004, Izzy’s was reinvented by his niece Leigh Heffron.  By developing and maintaining great relationships in Manhattan’s garment district during her time as a wardrobe stylist, Leigh has been able to ensure that she will have a full selection of designer clothing.  But you cannot mention Izzy’s without talking about their vintage inspired line of clothing called Reborn.  Using her costume design background along with the assistance of her Creative Director, Giovanni Capato, Leigh has created a line of unique one of a kind articles of clothing that are a blast from the past with Izzy’s own personal touch!

www.izzys-emporium.com

Blackstone's of Beacon Hill
Community Service

In April of 2006, Jennifer Hill and Mark Duffield became the proud owners of Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill, located on Charles Street in Boston.  Specializing in unique and distinctive gifts, often with a local New England flare, Blackstone’s has a built a reputation of excellence in both product and service.  But as both Jennifer and Mark will tell you, with over 30 years combined experience in the non-profit sector, their true passion is their community, as Blackstone’s supports numerous local charities and organizations, including the Boston chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Children’s Hospital, Hill House, the Park Street School, WGBH and many more.  Blackstone’s Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration has become an annual event involving both vendors and customers alike, with local families in need and the United Way benefiting from this unique fundraising effort.  This event and the many others like it that they run over the course of the year show that at Blackstone’s, the focus is on community service in a creative way. 

www.blackstonesbeaconhill.com

Centerville Pie Company
Advertising & Promotion

Laurie Bowen and Kristin Broadley, “The Pie Ladies,” started their business in the spring of 2009. Having both worked in restaurants on Cape Cod, they always dreamed of opening a local restaurant and pie shop for their friends and neighbors.  After being featured in the Barnstable Patriot, their homemade chicken pot pies quickly became famous in Centerville.  While Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King were on the Cape for Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s funeral in August, The Pie Ladies took a leap of faith and sent a few pies to their hotel.  They loved the pies so much that they called to personally thank them and ordered more pies!  Oprah even made a call to the Cape Cod Times and stated “it’s a great pot pie, I’ll tell you.”  Gayle also discussed the pies on her radio show.  Since then, The Pie Ladies have heard from people around the country wanting to order their pies.
 
Recently, Centerville Pies joined forces with Cape Abilities, a local non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities across Cape Cod, in order to accommodate the large volume of orders they receive daily and to start a mail order business.  In a very short amount of time, they have grown their business while creating jobs for people with disabilities.  Still within their first year of business, they continue to make headlines and draw in crowds of people who want a taste of their famous pies!

www.centervillepies.com