Food & Drink and Sports & Recreation Stars
After six weeks of nominations and voting, polling for the 2026 Alameda Community Stars Awards [1] ended on February 17. Almost 90,000 votes were cast for 1,995 contenders across 182 categories in nine divisions. Following a brief audit and cleanup of duplicate votes, we are ready to share the results and announce the winners from each category. Second and third runners up and other contenders are listed in their respective categories on the AlamedaStars [1] website.
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On Tuesday, we started by listing the community’s choices for Stars in the Arts & Culture and Personal Services [3] divisions. Yesterday, we shared the winners of the Business Services and Household Services [4] divisions. Today, we feature the top vote-getters in the Food & Drink and Sports & Recreation divisions, and tomorrow we will detail the Retail, Community, and Kids & Family [5] division winners. The Alameda Stars website will remain available to the public for the rest of the year, so you can check the standings anytime you like.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the competition, whether as a contender, a voter, or both. Be sure to show your appreciation by patronizing these Alameda businesses and service providers!
Food and Drink
- Bagel Shop – Levy’s Bagels & Co.
- Bakery – Night Heron Bread
- Bar – McGee’s
- Boba Tea Shop – Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
- Breakfast – Wescafé
- Brunch – Moxie
- Budget Meal – Wescafé
- Burger – Scolari’s Good Eats
- Catering – Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
- Central & South American Food – Cholita Linda
- Chinese Food – East Ocean Seafood Restaurant
- Cocktails – Moxie
- Coffee Shop – Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
- Donuts – Donut Petit
- Fast Food – In-N-Out Burger
- Food Truck – Scolari’s Good Eats (food truck)
- Healthy Food – Tahina
- Ice Cream – Tucker’s Ice Cream
- Italian Food – Trabocco Kitchen and Cocktails
- Japanese Food – Yojimbo
- Korean Food – Ohgane Alameda x Vons Chicken
- Local Brewery / Distillery – Faction Brewing
- Local Winery – Dashe Cellars
- Lunch Place – Domenico’s Italian Deli
- Mexican Food – Calafia Taqueria
- Pizza – Pizzeria Pappo
- Restaurant – Moxie
- Sandwiches – Domenico’s Italian Deli
- Seafood – Hang Ten Boiler
- Smoothies – Main Squeeze
- Take Out Food – Tahina
- Tea Shop – Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
- Thai/Burmese Restaurant – Burma Superstar
- Vegetarian/Vegan Food – Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
- Vietnamese/Cambodian/Laotian Food – Mint Leaf
- Wine Bar – Vinyl Wine Bar & Shop
- Wine Shop – CRAFT Beer & Wine
View the Food & Drink division on AlamedaStars.com [6].
The Food & Drink division was the second most populous with 495 contenders, and was very actively contested. One contender swept four out of the five categories for which they were nominated and was the first runner-up in the fifth. Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden was voted Star Coffee Shop over Wescafé and SIGNAL, Star Tea Shop was ahead of Malaya Tea Room and Sips Global Teas, Star Catering was ahead of Tahina and Asena, and Star Vegetarian/Vegan Food finished in front of Tahina and Burma Superstar.
Julie’s took second in the Brunch category, barely behind Moxie and ahead of Wescafé. Moxie made a good showing in the division, also taking top honors for two more categories: Star Restaurant, topping Trabocco and Asena out of a field of 53, and Star Cocktails, with Forbidden Island and Town Tavern as runners-up. Moxie also took second to McGee’s for Star Bar, followed by Lucky 13.
Four businesses took top honors in two categories each. Wescafé earned top honors for Star Breakfast and Budget meal, while Domenico’s Italian Deli got the nod for both Star Lunch Place and Sandwiches. Tahina earned the most votes as Star Healthy Food and Take Out, and Scolari’s led the field for Star Burger and Food Truck.
Other popular categories included Donuts, with Donut Petit getting Star honors; Star Pizza, which was awarded to newcomer Pizzeria Pappo; and Night Heron Bread, which was the top choice for Star Bakery. Dashe Cellars got the pick for Star Local Winery, while Faction earned Star Local Brewery/Distillery. Alameda’s Star Fast Food vote went to In-N-Out Burger.
[7]Sports & Recreation
- Boat Rental – Sea Trek Kayak and SUP
- Boat Works – Blue Pelican Marine
- Fitness Boutique/Pilates/Spinning – Greater Movement Wellness
- Gym/Health Club – Anchor Strength
- Marina – Grand Marina
- Martial Arts Studio – Island City Jiu Jitsu
- Personal Trainer – Anchor Strength
- Running/Racing Club – Kindred Running
- Sports Activities – Ballerz Academy
- Sports Coach – Kellan McNulty
- Sports Equipment Store – Kindred Running
View Sports & Recreation division on AlamedaStars.com [8].
The Sports & Recreation division was tied for the smallest in the contest, with 126 contenders in 11 categories. Still, Alameda is a great place for both sports and recreation, and two different businesses were voted the winners of two Stars each. Kindred Running was the choice for both Star Running/Racing Club and Star Sports Equipment Store. They were also the top pick for Star Shoe Store in the Retail Category, and second runner up for Star New Business. Another newcomer, Anchor Strength was nominated in two categories, and they took the Star for both Personal Trainer and Gym/Health Club.
The competition for Star Fitness Boutique/Pilates/Spinning generated a lot of interest, and when the votes were finalized, Greater Movement Wellness had the highest total, followed by Yoga Amansala and Jazzercise. Star Sports Coach was also popular among voters, with Kellan McNulty the top choice, ahead of Michael Coker and All Square Golf Academy. For Sports Activities, Ballerz Academy earned the Star, ahead of Corica Park Golf Course and the Alameda DragonFlyers Dragon Boat Racing Team.