Credit: photo by Matthew Fuller / CC by-SA 3.0

September 28, 1990: The very first Austin Chronicle Best of Austin issue. Time has swallowed so many of those inaugural winners, but for some, receiving a Readers Poll BOA is a sign of a dedication and uniqueness, a banner of quality, that has led to those businesses, venues, hotels, and galleries remaining part of Austin’s cultural life.

Terra Toys

Classic. Fun. Beautiful. Those three words have defined Austin’s favorite home for educational and entertaining toys since the store was founded in 1978. In 1990, they took Best Toy Store for Kids (their longtime playmates at Toy Joy won for Best Toy Store for Grownups), the first of 23 well-earned BOAs for a firm that keeps defining childhood in Austin.

2438 W. Anderson Ste. C-1, 512/445-4489. terratoys.com

Esther’s Follies

16 BOA wins seems suitable tribute for thousands of hilarious performances. Austin’s bulwark of revue comedy and improv laughs has weathered the encroaching storm of shot bars from the west and hipster havens from the east, a little slice of America’s greatest vaudeville traditions at the corner of Sixth and Red River.

525 E. Sixth, 512/320-0198. esthersfollies.com

Four Seasons Hotel

Five stars and 15 BOAs for the inaugural winner of Best Romantic Spot. The swanky Downtown hotel remains the go-to overnight rest spot for VIPs visiting Austin and seeking a sense of old-school hospitality.

98 San Jacinto, 512/478-4500. fourseasons.com/austin

Austin Books & Comics

Back before all culture was comic book culture, Austin Books & Comics was the first winner of our Best Comic Book Store award and has received that honor from our readers another 21 times, with three Critics Picks added to that trophy wall. All from their decades of dedication to turning that four-color page.

5002 N. Lamar, 512/454-4197. austinbooks.com

The Contemporary Austin at Laguna Gloria

Names change, but the uniqueness of the place stays the same. Clara Driscoll Sevier donated the Italianate mansion and grounds to the city as a museum in 1943, and since then it’s been the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, the AMOA-Arthouse at Laguna Gloria, and now the Contemporary Austin at Laguna Gloria. Exhibits change, but Austin’s most beauteous outdoor home to sculpture and installations, as well as the now-restored and peerless Driscoll Villa, took our first BOA for Best Art Gallery and has won 13 more awards from our art-loving readers and critics.

3809 W. 35th, 512/458-8191. thecontemporaryaustin.org

This article appears in Best of Austin 2023 (Insert).

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.