This feature is nearly two decades in the making. In July 2004, we launched the A-List, highlighting “57 of our favorite things,” with such categories as pet sitter, jazz club, and politician. During the two years prior, it was simply “Editors’ Choice Awards,” though the concept of recognizing the region’s most exceptional people and places stretches back much further, through multiple magazine iterations and angles.
While there are perennial favorites (Ted Drewes comes to mind), the concept has always reflected the times. Case in point: In 2000, the cover featured former Rams linebacker Mike Jones, who’d made “The Tackle” in Super Bowl XXXIV, hugging the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In 2016, after the team packed its bags for L.A., we named the best pro-sports owner “anyone not named Kroenke.” And while the magazine has long provided an annual snapshot of the best the region has to offer, everyone has a fave.
More recently, though, the annual awards have taken on new meaning. As we noted in summer 2020, as COVID-19 cases began to rise and schools and stadiums closed their doors, “Suddenly the idea of highlighting what’s outstanding about our region, without knowing whether even the most successful small businesses would survive, became a murky endeavor.
“We decided to move forward with the annual awards because they recognize local businesses and people who provide experiences, services, and support you can’t find anywhere else. They exemplify not only what’s outstanding about our region but also how we can work toward a brighter future. They are driving St. Louis forward at a pivotal moment.”
So, for the first time, we are dedicating the entire issue to our annual A-List Awards. This allows us to highlight even more great aspects of the metro area. Among the ways:
• We shine a brighter light on the honorees of the readers’ choice awards, selected following a months-long process, with more than 75,000 nominations and 550,000 votes.
• We applaud the artists and institutions that have provided much-needed joy and inspiration, following a brief intermission.
• We write about important work being done across the metro area to create jobs, address food insecurity, provide care, and build equity.
• We also highlight the daring entrepreneurs who’ve opened businesses and transformed their operations over the past year.
• Among them: developer Steve Smith, who reimagined a vacant lot in the heart of Midtown, overcoming hurdle after hurdle to open the vibrant food hall at City Foundry STL, with more in the works.
Collectively, these tireless efforts make St. Louis a better place to live. Through imagination and determination, the people and places highlighted in these pages are paving a path forward for the region.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Now, more than ever, that’s something to celebrate.
