City Life Readers’ Pick Winners: Best in the Nest 2025

***Best in the Nest Readers’ Picks are chosen exclusively by readers through a one-month nomination process followed by a one-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us. 2025 saw more than 42,000 ballots cast between the nomination and final rounds of voting in August and September.***

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CITY LIVING

BEST APARTMENT COMPLEX

Winner: The Village at Commonwealth
Runner Up: Camden Southline Apartments

BEST AREA TO LIVE

Winner: Plaza Midwood
Runner Up: Dilworth

BEST BUILDING

Winner: Thirsty Beaver Saloon
Runner Up: Charlotte Museum of History

BEST CART RIDE/SHUTTLE SERVICE

Winner: JUMP Transit
Runner Up: SouthPark Skipper

BEST CHURCH

Winner: Wedgewood Community Church
Runner Up: Caldwell Presbyterian Church

BEST CAT RESCUE

Winner: Humane Society of Charlotte
Runner Up: Inked Kittens Club

BEST CITY IMPROVEMENT

Winner: Greenway Extensions
Runner Up: Protected Bike Lanes

BEST CITY TOUR

Winner: Funny Bus Comedy City Tour
Runner Up: LaZoom Comedy Bus Tours

BEST CO-WORKING SPACE

Winner: Switchyards Neighborhood Work Club
Runner Up: Industrious

BEST DOG RESCUE

Winner: Humane Society of Charlotte
Runner Up: Forgotten, Now Family Rescue

BEST FAMILY-FRIENDLY PLACE

Winner: U.S. National Whitewater Center
Runner Up: Urban District Market

BEST HOTEL

Winner: JW Marriott Charlotte
Runner Up: The Ballantyne Hotel & Spa

BEST LOCAL COLLEGE

Winner: UNC Charlotte
Runner Up: Central Piedmont Community College

BEST LOCAL FARM

Winner: Carrigan Farms
Runner Up: Deep Roots CPS Farm

BEST NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

Winner: The Bowl at Ballantyne
Runner Up: New Main Library

BEST PARK IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY

Winner: Freedom Park
Runner Up: Reedy Creek Nature Center and Preserve

BEST PLACE FOR A STAYCATION

Winner: JW Marriott Charlotte
Runner Up: The Ritz-Carlton

BEST PLACE TO GET HITCHED

Winner: McGill Rose Garden
Runner Up: The Mint Museum

BEST PLACE TO HOLD AN EVENT

Winner: The Mint Museum
Runner Up: The Independent Picture House

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE-WATCH

Winner: Charlotte Douglas International Airport
Runner Up: South End

BEST PLACE TO TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN VISITORS

Winner: U.S. National Whitewater Center
Runner Up: Optimist Hall

BEST PLACE TO WORK (BUSINESS)

Winner: JW Marriott Charlotte
Runner Up: LaZoom Bus Tours

BEST PLACE TO WORK (REMOTE)

Winner: The Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters
Runner Up: Not Just Coffee

BEST WAY TO GET AROUND WITHOUT A CAR

Winner: LYNX Light Rail
Runner Up: JUMP Transit

BEST WEDDING VENUE

Winner: McGill Rose Garden
Runner Up: The Mint Museum

SPORTS & LEISURE

BEST BIKE CLUB

Winner: The Spoke Easy
Runner Up: NoDa Social Ride

BEST CAMPING SPOT (IN-STATE)

Winner: Hanging Rock State Park
Runner Up: Morrow Mountain State Park

BEST DISC GOLF COURSE

Winner: Reedy Creek Park Disc Golf Course
Runner Up: Renaissance Disc Golf Park – Gold

BEST LOCAL TEAM FAN BASE

Winner: Charlotte FC
Runner Up: Carolina Panthers

BEST GOLF COURSE

Winner: Charlotte Country Club
Runner Up: Rocky River Golf Club

BEST HIKING TRAIL

Winner: Crowders Mountain
Runner Up: Latta Nature Preserve

BEST LOCAL MASCOT

Winner: Sir Purr – Carolina Panthers
Runner Up: Chubby – Charlotte Checkers

BEST LOCAL SPORTS FIGURE

Winner: Greg Olsen, former Carolina Panther
Runner Up: Xavier Leggette, Carolina Panthers

BEST LOCAL SPORTS TEAM

Winner: Charlotte FC
Runner Up: Carolina Panthers

BEST PICKLEBALL COURTS

Winner: Tipsy Pickle
Runner Up: Rally Pickleball

BEST PLACE TO GET BACK TO NATURE

Winner: Latta Nature Preserve
Runner Up: U.S. National Whitewater Center

BEST MINI GOLF COURSE

Winner: Puttery
Runner Up: Monster Mini Golf

BEST REC CENTER

Winner: Eastway Regional Recreation Center
Runner Up: Northern Regional Recreation Center

BEST RUN CLUB

Winner: Mad Miles Run Club
Runner Up: NEOTERIC run club

BEST TENNIS COURTS

Winner: Veterans Park
Runner Up: TPC at Piper Glen

BEST TENNIS CLUB

Winner: Black Tennis Connect

BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY

Winner: Asheville, NC
Runner Up: Wilmington, NC

NEWS & POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT

BEST FREE EVENT OF 2025

Winner: Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade
Runner Up: Charlotte SHOUT!

BEST HERO

Winner: Jeff Jackson
Runner Up: Manolo Betancur

BEST HEROINE

Winner: Jessica Lefkowitz
Runner Up: Adrienne Threatt

BEST JOURNALIST

Winner: Ryan Pitkin – Queen City Nerve
Runner Up: Joe Bruno – WSOC

BEST LOCAL CELEBRITY

Winner: Brad Panovich
Runner Up: Brooklyn Decker

BEST LOCAL FESTIVAL

Winner: Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade
Runner Up: Charlotte SHOUT!

BEST LOCAL PODCAST

Winner: Queen City Unleashed
Runner Up: Wake Up To Your Life

BEST LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET

Winner: Queen City Nerve
Runner Up: Axios Charlotte

MOST IMPORTANT NEWS STORY OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS

Winner: Council Member Tiawana Brown Indicted for Alleged COVID Relief Fraud
Runner Up: CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings Settlement

BEST POLITICIAN

Winner: Jeff Jackson
Runner Up: Roy Cooper

BEST RADIO PERSONALITY

Winner: Mike Collins – 90.7 WFAE
Runner Up: Miguel Fuller – HITS 96.1

BEST RADIO SHOW

Winner: Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins – 90.7 WFAE
Runner Up: Miguel & Holly – HITS 96.1

BEST TV PERSONALITY

Winner: Brad Panovich – WCNC
Runner Up: Joe Bruno – WSOC

BEST TV SPORTSCASTER

Winner: Nick Carboni – WCNC
Runner Up: Mike Lacett – Queen City News

BEST TV NEWS STATION

Winner: WCNC
Runner Up: Queen City News

BEST USE OF LOCAL TAX MONEY

Winner: Greenway System
Runner Up: Light Rail Expansion

BEST NEWS ANCHOR

Winner: Morgan Fogarty – WCCB
Runner Up: Will Lewis – Queen City News

WHAT WE NEED MORE OF

Winner: Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Free Parking

LOCAL ISSUE THAT NEEDS MORE ATTENTION

Winner: Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Homelessness

SOCIAL MEDIA

BEST BUSINESS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Winner: Trope Bookshop (@tropebookshop)
Runner Up: Sip City Market & Bottle Shop (@sipcityclt)

BEST FACEBOOK PAGE

Winner: CLT Find
Runner Up: Charlotte Museum of History

BEST INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Winner: @dailydreclt
Runner Up: @sipcityclt

BEST INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER

Winner: Andrea Fox (@dailydreclt)
Runner Up: Shawn D. Allison II (@blackferrisbuellerclt)

BEST LOCAL FACEBOOK GROUP

Winner: Charlotte Foodies
Runner Up: Charlotte Area Liberal Moms (CALM)

BEST LOCAL TIKTOK ACCOUNT

Winner: Jensen Savannah Nichol (@jensensavannah)
Runner Up: The Black Gamer League (@blkgamerleague)

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT

Winner: @JoeBrunoWSOC9
Runner Up: @cltdevelopment

BEST WEB BLOG

Winner: Every Hornets Boxscore
Runner Up: Wayward Blog

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & SOCIAL JUSTICE

BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST

Winner: Robert Dawkins
Runner Up: Jessica Lefkowitz

BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST GROUP

Winner: Time Out Youth
Runner Up: Indivisible Charlotte

BEST EVENT FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Winner: International Holiday Bazaar – Wedgewood Church
Runner Up: Time Out Youth’s ASCEND Gala

BEST NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Winner: Time Out Youth
Runner Up: Classroom Central

BEST PLACE TO VOLUNTEER

Winner: Humane Society of Charlotte
Runner Up: Time Out Youth

BEST SUPPORT GROUP

Winner: Time Out Youth
Runner Up: Charlotte Trans Health Trans and Gender Diverse Therapist-Led Support Group