Hundreds of traders gathered at the Alban Arena on Monday night to celebrate the very best of St Albans business life at our annual Retailer of the Year Award ceremony.

The ever popular event, now in its fourth year, was established by the St Albans & Harpenden Review, district council, civic society and chamber of commerce to trumpet the achievements of the city’s many unsung heroes: its hard-working independent retailers, whose passion, professionalism and enthusiasm make it such a great place to live and work.

Former Review editor Martin Buhagiar, who acted as master of ceremonies, said: “We have a truly wonderful array of independent shops, cafes, restaurants, market stalls, boutiques and beauty salons in our city, and, in the current economic climate, it is vital that we protect them.

“…I hope that this competition succeeds in its aim of shining the spotlight on your establishments as well as increasing the footfall in St Albans city centre.”

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This year we received a record number of nominations for retailers in all six of our categories, giving our army of mystery shoppers a very challenging task indeed.

After weeks of test purchases, haircuts and beauty treatments, these nominations were then whittled down to a list of 30 finalists by our Retailer of the Year Committee: Chairman Roma Mills, Councillor Melvyn Teare, Councillor Salih Gaygusuz, Eric Roberts (of the Civic Society), Sandra Oldfield (St Albans Chamber of Commerce), former Review Editor Martin Buhagiar, and council officer Maria Cutler.

After many hours of tense debate the panel voted to award this years’ title to Chez Mumtaj, an outstanding French-Asian restaurant in London Road.

Judges noted its consistently exceptional level of service and quality.

Owner and executive chef Chad Rahman celebrated an “absolutely incredible achievement” and thanked his staff and customers for making the award possible.

He told The Review: “This has come as an incredible surprise to us all. It is an incredible feeling to have won. I have lived in St Albans for 14 years now and it is my home. I feel very proud of this award and very grateful to all my customers.”

Speaking of the awards scheme, he added: “I think this competition is absolutely brilliant. It is something that brings businesses together and gives them a chance to be commended for what they do.

We are very fortunate to have a competition like this in St Albans.”

Guests, who attended in record numbers, enjoyed a tasty buffet provided by A&C Meats, Buongiorno Italia, Med Grill and Freddies. Entertainment, meanwhile, was provided by vibrant Latin band Swan Vesta Social Club and Marco the Magician.

It was also a night to remember for gift shop LA James, which received our second annual STAR award in recognition of its 50 years of service to the city.

SPECIALIST SHOPS The “beautiful” window displays and outstanding customer service of a printed t-shirt shop saw it crowned champion in our Specialist Shops category.

Founded ten years ago, The Printed Clothing Company, in Verulam Road, has proved a real hit with fashionable shoppers – particularly teenagers.

Manager Paul Dorey said: “It has taken us ten years to really establish ourselves in the city and this is great news for us. It is the staff who have made this happen.”

Colleague Lee Arnold explained: “It’s great to know that we’re doing something that is appreciated by so many people – that they value our experience and knowledge.

“We work really hard to make the shop a success and this is a brilliant achievement for us.”

FOOD AND DRINK Retailer of the Year veterans A&C Meats claimed an astonishing third victory in four years.

The popular shop, in Catherine Street, was again nominated by loyal customers in their dozens – in recognition of its friendly customer service and reputation for quality.

Proud owner Carl Hatfull celebrated the victory with his hard-working staff. He said: “It’s great news to win it again. It’s great recognition for the shop and its staff, who have made this possible again.

“But, ultimately it is the customers that put you in these positions so we have to thank them for their loyalty.

“Hopefully we’ll be back here again next year.”

MARKET TRADER The consistent quality and friendly service of Poulter’s Fish saw the stall awarded a richly deserved first place in our keenly contested market trader category.

It fended off strong competition from five other finalists, including last year’s winners Sycamore Wholefoods, to claim the prize.

Dave Williams, who has worked on the stall for more than eight years, said: “It is a great feeling to be recognised like this. It is a great place to work because it’s a very friendly stall. We have a great relationship with our customers and we really enjoy serving them very day.

“We were delighted to have been nominated and it feels brilliant to have won this award. It’s nice to know that our customers have been voting for us and supporting us.”

FASHION AND ACCESSORIES The ladies at Gladrags Fashion celebrated in vocal style as their efforts over the past 12 months were recognised with a Retailer of the Year Award.

Based in Heritage Close, the St Albans branch opened in 1985 and has since strived to live up to its customer service inspired motto: “nothing is too much trouble.”

On Monday night it fended of stiff competition from its city rivals to claim the coveted first place award.

Owner Alex Barry said: “It feels amazing to win. It is never easy as an independent retailer to keep going in these hard times so it is wonderful that we have been recognised like this. It feels really nice that our customers have supported us in this way.

“There’ll be no stopping us next year.”

HAIR AND BEAUTY Wild celebrations followed the victory of the Eve & Adam spa in this most hotly contested of categories.

Our judges really had their work cut-out to select a winner from another highly competitive shortlist.

In the end, however, they plumped for this delightful beauty retreat, in Catherine Street.

Owner Sally Watkins, who opened the business eight years ago, spoke of her shock. She said: “It was a total surprise for us to us. We were happy just to be nominated.

“This is the result of so much hard work by my team and the massive effort they put in to make the business a success. It is all about quality of service in our industry and I am very proud of them all. We hope to be back next year.”

CAFE AND RESTAURANTS A total of 24 cafes and restaurants were nominated by the food-lovers of St Albans – providing a sumptuous task for our hungry mystery shoppers and judges.

Councillor Melvyn Teare, introducing the award, joked that his strict new diet had prevented him form frequenting all the establishments concerned but was fulsome in his praise of quality of dining available in the city.

Eventual overall winner, Chez Mumtaj, claimed victory in this category, ahead of Freddie’s, in Adelaide Street, Bar Espresso, in Victoria Street, Café Nes, at the Alban Arena, and Kashu, in Hatfield Road.

Owner and executive chef Chez Mumtaj said: “I feel very proud of this award and very grateful to all my customers.”