TRADERS in the district were celebrated and honoured last night at our annual Retailer of the Year awards.

Hundreds of guests gathered at the Alban Arena for the sold-out glitzy gala awards evening, which is now in its fifth year.

The popular competition was established by the St Albans & Harpenden Review, St Albans District Council, St Albans Civic Society and Chamber of Commerce to trumpet the achievements of hard-working retailers across the city.

Sandra Oldfield, from St Albans Chamber of Commerce, told those gathered: "The people of St Albans have really got behind these awards."

More than 1,000 nominations have been received over the last couple of months, demonstrating the pride in our local retailers.

A team of mystery shoppers spent weeks visiting all 137 nominated venues, judging the service offered to customers.

After much debate, the nominations were whittled down to 30 venues split into six categories: Specialist Shops; Hair and Beauty; Fashion and Accessories; Markets Traders; Cafes and Restaurants and the Star Award.

The Retailer of the Year committee, made up of Labour councillor Roma Mills, Liberal Democrat Melvyn Teare, Tory member Salih Gaygusuz, Chamber member Sandra Oldfield, civic society member Eric Roberts, council officers Maria Cutler and Charles Baker and former Review editor Martin Buhagiar, then decided on the winner of each category.

Mr Buhagiar, who was compere for the evening, said: "Every year it gets bigger and better and I think this was our best yet.

"It was nice to see so many people there.In St Albans people support independent retailers. That was shown by the number of nominations.

"It shows how important independent retailers are."

The 250 guests who attended the event enjoyed a buffet dinner provided by Freddie’s, A&C Meats and Kamillos Restaurant, while the St Albans based Latin band Swan Vesta Social Club and Marco the Magician provided entertainment throughout the evening.

The Green Boutique, in the Village Arcade in High Street, was announced as this year’s overall winner, the Retailer of the Year, prompting much cheering as the staff took to the stage to collect their award.

The business, set up six months ago, is the brainchild of owner Leah Rowland who left her investment banking job to start it up.

She told the Review she had not expected to win anything, let alone leave the Alban Arena crowned Retailer of the Year.

The 35-year-old said: "We have only been open six months so for me it has been a good night.

"It makes it all worthwhile - the blood, the sweat, the tears, the long nights. Tonight has just been a blur.

"I do offer something different. It is about what the customer wants.

"It is about going above and beyond and finding things for people. I think it is about doing whatever’s needed."

The evening’s first award, Specialist Shop, was presented by Councillor Roma Mills and went to Cuthberts Toys in Christopher Place.

Kirit Patel, the owner of the shop, said: "It was a bit of a surprise - we didn’t think we would win.

"There was some good competition in the category.

"We were shortlisted last year but we didn’t win so we were just really happy to be nominated again."

Up next was the Food and Drink category, which received 21 nominations.

Buongiorno Italia, a deli and coffee bar in Lattimore Road, was named the winner and their award was presented by Councillor Salih Gaygusuz.

Tony Picciuto, who owns the store, said: "It has been brilliant - it is a great honour.

"I’ve got fantastic staff and they have worked really hard.

"This is all down to them."

Poulter’s Fish Stall was named the winner of the Markets Traders category.

Eric Roberts, from the St Albans Civic Society, presented the award.

He said: "The market is lively, colourful and full of characters.

"We must celebrate it."

This year’s Star Award, which was introduced in 2010 to reward traders who go that little bit further, went to market traders the Card Sisters.

Christine Ferth and Marion McGuire have been running the business in the city for 36 years.

They said: "We’re thrilled to bits - we can’t believe it.

"We would just like to thank all our friends and customers who have supported us over the years.

"It’s been fun but hard work."

Maria Cutler, economic development officer at the district council, presented The Green Boutique with the award for the Fashion and Accessories category.

Introducing the award, she said: "We have exclusive independent shops, chains and anchor shops that keep people shopping in this area."

Freddie’s in Adelaide Street was named the winner of the Cafes and Restaurant category, which was sponsored by Christopher Place.

Owner Freddie Bendahmen said: "It feels great, fantastic for us at the restaurant to have the support of the community and our customers.

"I am very pleased, it is a great feeling and I am very surprised.

"It is a vindication of the hard work we have done for the last 12 years."

The overall winner was picked by the panel from the winners in each category.

Staff from The White Swan, which was named the Festive Pub of the Year earlier this year, were presented with their award during the evening.

More than £300 was raised on the night for St Albans mayor Eileen Harris' charities - Shelter, Centre 33 and Special Olympics.

The Review tweeted updates throughout the evening from our Twitter account @Review_Eagle