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The Go Forth team has announced the longlist for the 2026 Stirling Business Awards as voting begins to choose the winners of the annual honours.
Ten businesses have been selected for each awards category following a nominations process which attracted more than 2,200 submissions.
There are 14 award categories – including Restaurant of the Year, New Business of the Year, Charity Shop of the Year and Outstanding Woman in Business – and voting is open now via www.independentstirling.co.uk/awards
The Stirling Business Awards are run by Go Forth Stirling BID (Business Improvement District), to recognise and reward members of the city’s business community.
A shortlist of three businesses per category will be revealed in January, when – in a change to the usual format – there will be a further round of voting to choose which businesses are crowned the winner of each category.
The winners will be announced during the week beginning Monday March 2 with trophies awarded during individual presentations at their premises.
Go Forth Stirling Project Director Danielle McRorie-Smith said: “We’ve had a fantastic response to our fourth annual business awards and are pleased to see the public and business community continuing to support them.
“We are proud to run an annual celebration recognising Stirling’s hardworking business owners, the city’s unique independent scene and its wide range of national retailers.
“We have, however, decided to run the awards slightly differently this year with a new format which involves a week-long online campaign and celebration instead of the usual awards night.
“We recognise the cost to small businesses which the awards ceremony incurs and know how tight budgets are for all of us in the business community just now.”
She added: “We saw a diverse range of businesses, charities and exceptional businesswomen nominated – from a total of 2,201 submissions – during the first round of voting with 10 from each category featuring on our longlist.
“And now it’s time for the public to vote online for their favourite accommodation, shop, pub, café, charity shop, hair & beauty salon, visitor attraction and more from those listed in each category. Good luck to everyone!”
The awards categories include Charity of the Year with Strathcarron Hospice, Start Up Stirling, Safebase and Andy’s Man Club among the 10 longlisted organisations.
Meanwhile, those longlisted for Restaurant of the Year include Il VIcolo, Hoi An Quan, Café Aina, Brea, Piotsa and Mint Leaf.
Among the businesses nominated for Café/Coffee Shop of The Year are Book Nook, Chester’s Coffee House, Toast, Cisco’s and HBW Coffee while contenders for Most Attractive Shop Front include Tinkerbells Emporium, Clan Artisan, Mint Café and Contempo.
And those competing for Pub of the Year include Fubar, Meraki, Jessica O’Marleys, City Walls and Molly Malones.
Further award categories feature Visitor Attraction of the Year, Hair & Beauty Business of the Year, Charity Shop of the Year and New Business of the Year recognising businesses which began trading in 2025.
There is also a Service-led Business Award, Accommodation of the Year, Independent Retailer of the Year, National Retailer of the Year and an award for Outstanding Woman in Business.
Voting for the shortlist of businesses ends on Friday January 9 and the top three in each category will be revealed a few days later.
A final round of voting begins on Friday January 16, running until Friday February 13, to pick the final winner in each category from the shortlist.
The winners will be announced from Monday March 2 onwards with films and photographs to mark their achievements featuring on Go Forth’s social media pages.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Outstanding Woman in Business award will be revealed on International Women’s Day – Sunday March 8.
The business awards are one of Go Forth’s many initiatives aimed at highlighting and showcasing Stirling’s wide range of independent and national businesses.
Go Forth Stirling BID represents more than 600 business owners with a key objective of increasing visitors to the city and devising initiatives to help make it a more welcoming destination for businesses and shoppers.
For more information, visit www.goforthstirling.co.uk
