Nine Oxford businesses place on Journal-News' Best of Butler County contest

The Journal-News' 2024 Best of Butler County winners are out, and nine Oxford businesses ranked among the best in the area.

Three local businesses — Oxford Veterinary Hospital, BikeWise and MOON Co-op — won first place in their respective categories, with MOON Co-op taking home two first-place wins in best natural food store and best health food store. MOON also placed second in best grocery store, losing only to Jungle Jim's, and third in best place to buy meat.

Shademaker's Garden Center also gained recognition in multiple categories, winning second place for best nursery and third place for best commercial/residential landscaper.

Oxford did well in food categories, with Paesano's Pasta House winning second place for best Italian food and Krishna Indian Restaurant coming in third for best Indian Food. The Oxford Farmers Market also placed third for best farmers market.

Finally, The Knolls of Oxford placed second for best independent living, and Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum won third place for best museum.

MOON Co-op celebrates success across categories

MOON Co-op, Oxford's biggest winner this year, was the only local business to place in the inaugural Best of Butler County contest last year. This year, the co-op took home two first place prizes, as well as third-best place to buy meat and second-best grocery store.

Carla Blackmar, board president for MOON, said the co-op is unique among grocery stores in the county. As a cooperative, the store is operated by roughly 1,000 member-owners who act as shareholders. Co-ops are more popular in college towns like Oxford and places with alternative cultures, Blackmar said.

The store's small size and focus on healthy, organic foods presents some challenges, but Blackmar said it also adds to its appeal in the community.

"We supply all kinds of small, local products that Kroger could never sell at scale," Blackmar said. "We have ... local honey, jams, pickles, sprouts, ferments, one-off kombuchas, special mushrooms — all these things that are artisan-produced, extremely small, localized things."

In the broad grocery category, MOON lost only to Jungle Jim's, a store with more than 200,000 square feet of retail space and 180,000 unique products. At that size, Jungle Jim's could fit more than 75 MOON Co-ops inside its walls. The win Blackmar is most excited about, though, is the co-op's third place for best place to buy meat.

To ensure that MOON's meat is ethically sourced and sustainably raised, Blackmar said the co-op only supplies it from small local farms. To get meat of the same quality and ethical standards in a big city, she says it would be significantly more expensive, even though grocery stores like Kroger and Walmart may sell meat produced at an industrial scale for lower prices.

"I'm really honored by that win because I think it recognizes something that's incredibly unique about our community at large," Blackmar said. "We are a community of farmers and growers, and it's almost like a hidden gem. You can get meat cheaper pretty much anywhere, but you're not going to find some of the stuff [we stock] pretty much anywhere in the country."

Local vet, bike shop each win first place county-wide

Doug Hamilton, owner of BikeWise Oxford, said he had no idea the Best of Butler County contest was happening until one of his employees came in one day and told him they'd won first place for best bike shop.

"I tend to think we're not even on the radar for most of those things, because we're up here in little Oxford," Hamilton said. "Oxford's easy to forget about."

BikeWise both sells and repairs bicycles for customers who travel from as far as Louisville, Kentucky for the service. When someone buys a bike from BikeWise, Hamilton says the shop offers minor fixes for free for as long as the customer has that bike. For Miami University students who travel home for the summer, or other customers who need storage space while away, the shop offers free upstairs storage.

While people can buy cheap bikes from bigger stores like Walmart, Hamilton said the quality isn't comparable in either product or service. Buying from BikeWise or other local bike shops may cost more up front, but he says their knowledge and ability to customize bikes can save customers money and frustration in the long run, all while supporting local businesses.

"We ask folks ... to choose local first," Hamilton said. "If we don't have it, we'll be the first to say we can't get that ... but every single [purchase] makes a difference. I hope we don't ever go away. I hope bike shops can stick around."

Oxford Veterinary Hospital (OVH) also took home first place in its category for best animal clinic/veterinarian. Dr. Chris Reagh, a veterinarian and medical director for the office, said clinic staff's focus on relationships has helped them thrive.

"The services that we offer and the staff that we have in particular is unmatched for sure ... It means we work hard, but everybody's just so incredibly dedicated to helping pets," Reagh said.

OVH's staff includes Dr. Chantel Raghu, a board certified internal medicine specialist who Reagh said takes referrals from hours away. Dr. Andrea Mears and Dr. Judi Vinch also work full time at the clink, while Dr. Kelli Zilli fills in and provides relief for the other veterinarians. When clients move out of the area, he said some still choose to come back to OVH from more than an hour away because of the level of care.

Beyond serving its patients, OVH also works as a teaching hospital site. Fourth-year veterinary students train as externs at the hospital, and Miami pre-veterinary students also volunteer and shadow there each semester. In the community, OVH staff also helps in trap, neuter release days to manage Oxford's stray cat population.

"We've got the best staff in the world," Reagh said. "We're very fortunate to have people that really love their pets and want to do what's absolutely best for them."

Shademaker's Garden Center places in two categories, five other businesses recognized

Shademaker's began as a landscaping company in 1991 before adding a garden center in 1993. When the owners decided to move the garden center from their farm three miles outside Oxford to its current location at the intersection of Spring Street and Elm Street, partial owner and founder Rob Drake said the garden center side of the business became its staple.

Now, both sides are getting recognition as the company placed second in the nursery/garden center category and third for commercial/residential landscaping.

The location change has been a boon for the business. Now that the center is in town, Drake said residents regularly make spontaneous stops, sometimes multiple per day. The company also has two landscaping crews which do hardscapes and gardening for customers throughout town.

"For us to even be recognized was an honor, let alone to place second and third," Drake said. "Frankly, it comes down to service. We built a team here [that is] second to none."

Kevin Wilson, garden center manager, said people visit Shademaker's from 30 miles away. The community has supported their transformation of the property off Elm Street, as well, which now features landscaping and a black aluminum fence.

"We've really changed this corner for the best," Wilson said. "It is now something [our customers] enjoy and purposefully go by when we're closed, when we're open, just to see the landscape out front."

Five additional Oxford businesses also took home second- and third-place honors in this year's contest.

Paesano's Pasta House, a locally owned Italian restaurant on South Campus Avenue, earned distinction as the second-best Italian restaurant in the county. The restaurant, which seats 50, is open 5-9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The Knolls of Oxford, a retirement community which offers both independent and assisted living, won second place for best independent living. The 84-acre community includes a pond, clubhouse and more.

Krishna Oxford won third place in the best Indian food category. The restaurant serves a variety of Indian classics from naan to shrimp curry and has a number of vegetarian options. Current hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.

The Oxford Farmers Market took home third place in the farmers market category. Shoppers can buy from a variety of vendors year-round every Saturday 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Uptown.

Finally, the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum, which is owned and operated by Miami University, placed third on the list of best museums in the county. The museum features a sculpture park and five galleries with regularly changing exhibitions. The galleries are closed until Aug. 27 according to the website, but normal hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Journal-News launched the Best of Butler County in 2023 "to celebrate the great people, businesses and parts of life that make living and working here great," according to the publication's website. This year's winners span nine broad categories and more than 150 individual subcategories.