Celebrate the best

With this, the CN&R’s annual Best of Chico issue, we get an opportunity to learn a little more about so many of the businesses and service providers that make Chico unique and exciting. And we get to celebrate all our favorite people and places, too, in a way thanking them for enriching our lives.

But voting for local businesses is not the only way to thank them. Actually visiting them, and spending your money there, goes a whole lot further. While you flip through these pages and read about the best things in Chico, keep in mind that these businesses wouldn’t be here without us. If we don’t shop locally, we won’t have local shops. If we sit at home, click a few buttons, and order 15 things on Amazon or Overstock, that money leaves our community; by spending locally, that money stays here.

The CN&R has long been a champion of the “shop local” mantra, and we want to take this opportunity to repeat it. Put down that computer mouse and resist the urge to shop online. Instead, continue to patronize your favorite local restaurants and stores. And by reading about the Best of Chico, maybe you’ll discover a few new local gems. We certainly have a lot of them!