We live in a shrinking city, in a shrinking county, in a shrinking state. We are caught in the grip of a shrinking economy, aggravated by shrinking credit markets.

Mom & Pops Natural Foods (photo by Rose Mattrey)

So it’s fitting that our Best of Buffalo voting result for shops and services is, as it always has been, a celebration of the small. Sure, Billy Fuccillo is huge, but look at some of our other top five finishers: Spiral Scratch Records, an exquisite hole in the wall up on Delaware Avenue; KC’s Fitness, the small but spirited gym on Symphony Circle; Wild Things, the women’s jewelry and cooperative arts on Lexington Avenue.

Western New Yorkers are loyal shoppers: In many categories, our top five vote-getters hardly ever change, and plenty of these shops and businesses have been in business for decades. Here’s an example: Spars, the small butcher shop on Amherst Street that specializes in sausage. The ownership changed two years ago, but the shop’s name and recipes remained. So did its customer base and its annual place in our Best of Buffalo poll.

Some things do change: Perennial favorite Abraham’s Jewelers (on Elmwood Avenue) dropped out of the top five jewelry stores this year. That’s a surprise, as the store hasn’t changed its wares or its ownership. Maybe that’s a lesson for those businesses that have been comfortably ensconced among AV’s honorees for years: Keep asking for votes if you want another award; don’t assume they’re yours.

And another lesson, offered once again in our “Best Video Store” and “Best Record/CD Store” categories: Technology can be a killer. Among the top five responses to those questions: “There aren’t any good video stores anymore.” (Thanks, NetFlix.) And “RIP to New World Records.”

—geoff kelly

Best of Buffalo 2009 Nominations Mysteries of Buffalo • The Way We Eat • The Way We Drink Where We Shop • Our Kind of Music • These are Our People Our Culture, Great and Small • This is Our Town And the Winners Are...