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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Click here to see the 2009 Best of Jackson Winners
See Past Best of Jackson Winners on Jackpedia

Fresh off an exciting inauguration, the Jackson Free Press is thrilled to unveil the winners today of our annual Best of Jackson readers’ choice awards to celebrate all that is wonderful about our city and our local businesses. Also today we officially announce the location of the annual Best of Jackson party this Sunday–it will be the first event held in the soon-to-open Auditorium, Nathan Glenn’s new restaurant/music venue in the former Duling School in Fondren. The party opens to the public at 8 p.m. that night with an awards ceremony following by dancing with deejay Mr. Nick. As always, there will be an invitation-only reception from 6 to 8 p.m. If you are a winner or a finalist, you are automatically invited; call 601.362.6121 ext. 1 if you do not receive your invitation by Friday.

Meantime, cheers to all the local businesses, people and institutions honored in this issue. Remember, every finalist is a winner, regardless of who took first. Congratulate them next time you see them!

Corrections to print edition: Mississippi Children’s Home Services was left out of “Good showing” for Best Non-Profit Organization, and the entire Best Seafood category was left out. Those winners are:

The following was inadvertently left out of the print edition:

Best Seafood
1. The Mayflower
2. AJ’s
3. Walker’s Drive-In
Good showing: Sal & Phil’s, Bonefish Grill

Previous Comments

Very cool!! I am actually surprised at the location after all (I thought I had guessed it – thought it was the convention center). Yippy!!


Oooo, I thought you knew! Maybe this secret was better kept than I thought. 😉


Awesome! Last year’s party was a blast.


“later today’………….just what exactly does later today mean? later as in – pick it up in the morning…OR later as in shut up queen and hold tight!


Korey is preparing to post winners now, Queen. 😉 Some of the print issues are out as well. And we’ll have some here at 5:30 if you’re coming to the meeting.


Great news, I’ve been wanting to see the inside of the Auditorium!


ohh i have been waiting anxiously for these results all day…. it’s so frustrating to be 1000 miles away. hope everyone has a great time at the party!


With no football this Sunday, maybe I’ll make an appearance.


I’ve been waiting all day for the list and now I am saddened that we Webites lost out in the knowledge dept. to the printed page. Alas.


It was a big chore for Korey to post last night, Hardline. Sorry. Winners are all available here!


No worries, I’m appreciative of the effort. I’m looking forward to the party!


BTW, all, everyone’s asking about the dress for the party and if there is a theme (no one wants to dress like the Monopoly shoe, it seems). We’re calling it “tycoon chic”—so whatever that means to you … Or, go on ahead and dress like a jailbird. That works, too.


Speaking of best, Slumdog Millionaire is as good as the hype. Great story. Unbelievable peek into the slums of Mumbai.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.