Introducing... Smiley Pete's Best of Lex

Dear readers,

We couldn’t be more excited to share the results of our inaugural Smiley Pete’s Best of Lex campaign. From a write-in only nomination period that started in December 2023, to a three-week voting period in January 2024 where we received over 260,000 votes, our readers have nominated and voted on their favorite local businesses, organizations, activities and more, and we’ve lovingly compiled the results into this issue: our love letter to Lexington. Smiley Pete Publishing has been fortunate enough to share your stories for 27 years, and we see this as an opportunity for us to share what we get to see every day.

While bourbon, basketball and horses give us plenty to celebrate, those who live here know that Lexington is more than that: We are a community of artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, and community-minded folks who work tirelessly to create and evolve and recreate the fabric of Lexington. We present these listings as a snapshot of what, where and who our readers have chosen to celebrate in this particular moment in time, interwoven with “odes to Lexington” written by various local folks who have gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to contributing to the identity and pulse of our city.

We encourage you to pick up a print issue from one of our dozens of local drop spots, and keep the issue year round, utilizing it as a resource when planning your next outing or something to help visitors plan their trips to Lexington.

A huge thanks to everyone who nominated and voted, and to the businesses that have supported this effort by sponsoring and advertising in this monumental project.

And as always, thank you for reading. We look forward to doing this again next year!

Sincerely,

The staff of Smiley Pete

Click the links below to visit the listings in each individual category:

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