Last night was D-ecision Day for the #DECAgems competition.
Our team of volunteers spent the night going through all your fabulous nominations and settling on the Final Four candidates.
Before I disclose them, let me give you some statistics. We started this competition with nothing more than a blog post, some beautifully designed posters (thank you Heather Corbin), and a hope that our neighbours would be as keen as we were to celebrate our local businesses.
The response has been overwhelming. We’ve received more than 400 nominations in that time, for 100 businesses.
We’ve heard heart-warming, interesting and funny stories about local places that otherwise, we might not have frequented. And many of the local businesses have told us that as a result, they’ve already received new customers — because of the nominations and the campaign. All of them are touched by the attention. They feel valued. That was the real point of the #DECAgems competition. We might live in an internet world, but in the end it’s the old-fashioned word-of-mouth that draws business in this place. We are true neighborhood.
Because of the outpouring, we’ve decided to continue the spirit of this competition after it’s all over by featuring one business a month on our blog, and with neighborhood activities. We will call it the “Gem of the Month.”
However, we had to choose.
How to fish out a measly 4 from a pool of 100? We were guided by three principles: Popularity among voters; the impact our #DECAgems marketing prize could have on the particular business; and, what this business might give back to the DECA community.
We won’t chose which of the final four will be crowned the #DECAgem. That’s up to our team of celebrity judges (you can scope them out here), who will get a tour of the Final Four next week and then join us on Thursday May 14 at Hirut Restaurant to cast their votes. You are welcome too! Mark the date in your calendar and join us at 2050 Danforth (just west of Woodbine) for some food on us, neighborly chat, a glass of wine perhaps and certainly some entertainment.
Among our judges is Guinness Book record oyster shucker and restauranteur Pat McMurray and Spacing Magazine publisher Matt Blackett.
Before that, you can vote for which of the four you think deserves the prize. We’ve set up a voting page here. As it turns out, we’ve written about each of the four over the past three weeks. You can look back at their reviews.
The drum has been rolling long enough. The anticipation is killing you!
Here, with no further ado, are the Final Four, in complete random order:
1. Gerrard Spaghetti and Pizza (1528 Danforth)
2. Face to Face Games (2077a Danforth)
3. Sunny’s Auto Clinic (2404 Danforth)
4. Vincenzo’s Supermarket (2406 Danforth)
The #DECAgems competition is over. Let the Battle of the Gems begin!
