Best of El Cerrito 2025

Supporting our local businesses is more important than ever. The Best of El Cerrito Program celebrates small businesses and businesses of all sizes that make this place special.  This is done by encouraging you, the community, to nominate and vote for your favorites.

Each business that wins is recognized with a “Best of” logo and promoted through plaques, window clings and certificates as well as through print, social and digital marketing. By voting, you help lift these businesses and our local economy.

Visit the Best of El Cerrito Ballot here.  The Best of program is carried out in two phases: a nomination and voting phase.  During the nomination phase, you can write in your favorite business for each category on our nomination page.  After the one-month nomination phase, you get to vote through our digital ballot.  It’s easy to register and vote for your favorites.

Businesses are nominated by the public. If you are an El Cerrito-based or an El Cerrito-serving business, you can register for a free Best of El Cerrito digital badge to help you get out the vote.  We’ll provide you with a custom “nominate us” badge that can be shared with your customers.  If your business is nominated and reaches the second voting round, then you’ll also be eligible to request a vote for us badge

Businesses with the most votes from the public after the voting phase are the winners.

There’s no cost to businesses to participate. The program’s goal is to raise awareness of El Cerrito area businesses and to encourage shopping locally. If you run a local business here in or around El Cerrito, we invite you to fill out the above form and we’ll send you a custom nominate us or vote for us badge (depending upon the program phase).

Winners will receive an array of benefits including window clings for your storefront, digital assets showing your business was voted as the best, and an invitation to an award celebration.

During the contest, there will also be options to advertise within the program to increase visibility.

Optional recognition awards will also be made available after the contest to help promote winners including featured listings in a Best of El Cerrito, a website listing winners by category and custom award plaques.

Need help getting out the word about your business? While there is no cost for businesses to participate, there are options to increase visibility including featured listings in the ballot, eblasts to the El Cerrito community and social media posts.

*Advertising options are separate for each round.

Featured Listings During Voting Round

• A dedicated and customized voting page with your business information that you can share with your customers.
• Moves your business above standard listings in the ballot.
• Logo and featured photo of your business.
• Address and map for your business.
• Phone number for your business.
• Link to your website.

Example of a dedicated voting page:

Example of a featured listing:

Need help getting out the word about your business? While there is no cost for businesses to participate, there are options to increase visibility including featured listings in the ballot, eblasts to the El Cerrito community and social media posts.

*Advertising options are separate for each round.

E-Blasts and Social Posts During Voting Round

• E-Blast is an additional option to promote your featured listing through email.
• List includes 15,000+ subscribers around El Cerrito, Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, and the Greater East Bay.
• E-Blasts go out weekly during the duration of the round (nomination or voting), encouraging the community to vote.
• E-Blasts include your company logo and link to your featured listing.
• Social Posts are promoted through social media advertisements in Facebook and Instagram to the broader El Cerrito Community.  They include logos of our business that link back to the dedicated voting page.

Yes. To keep the program free for all businesses in the El Cerrito area, the program is supported by sponsors.  Please view the Best of El Cerrito sponsorship information or contact us to to learn about our sponsorship packages.