2025 Family Favorite Awards

We are excited to announce the winners of our 2025 Henderson Family Favorites contest, where you, our loyal and trustworthy readers, have the opportunity to make your voices heard. 

Hundreds of you cast your votes for your favorites — from pediatricians and parks to sweet treats and boutiques. Take a look at all of the 2025 Family Favorites and see if your choices made the cut.

Favorite Sandwich Shop 
Platinum Winner: Sidewalk Café
Sidewalk Cafe is a family-owned business serving the Henderson community. Offering a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads, sides and desserts, you will enjoy this family-friendly restaurant making you feel right at home. 

Gold Winner: Homer’s Barbecue

Favorite Restaurant 
Platinum Winner: Hometown Roots
Hometown Roots is locally-owned and located in downtown Henderson offering delicious, southern comfort food. With weekly specials, a welcoming atmosphere and friendly customer service, you’ll be ready to plan your next visit before walking out the door. 

Gold Winner: Homer’s Barbecue

Favorite Mexican Restaurant 
Platinum Winner: Tacoholics
Tacoholics offers traditional Mexican dishes. Made with fresh ingredients and full of flavor, you can find your favorite dishes all week long. Local customers love the fajitas, chimichangas and Mexican street tacos.

Gold Winner: Agaves Mexican Grill

Favorite Sweet Treat
Platinum winner: Coffee + Cream
Coffee + Cream is a coffee and ice cream shop located in the Eastgate Shopping Center. Offering 16 flavors year-round, along with ice cream cakes and miniature ice cream treats, customers are sure to find the perfect treat to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Gold winner: The Dairiette

Favorite Food Truck 
Platinum winner: Trappin Chick’n 
You can find Trappin Chick’n parked in different locations throughout Henderson. They offer wings, sliders, quesadillas, loaded red potatoes, fries, nachos and more. Follow them on social media to find where they are headed to serve the community next.

Gold winner: Up in Smoke BBQ

Favorite Coffee Shop
Platinum winner: Roast Coffee Bar 
Roast Coffee Bar is the perfect place to grab your morning brew, offering a variety of delicious coffee and latte flavors. Not a coffee drinker? Grab a refreshing iced tea and satisfy your sweet tooth with freshly made muffins and scones, along with your favorite Roast beverage.

Gold winner: Antler Specialty Goods

Favorite Pizza Place
Platinum winner: Rockhouse on the River
Rockhouse opened in 1996 in Robards, KY as a small, carryout and drive-thru only business. Best known for their strombolis and delicious pizza, Rockhouse soon expanded to wings, salads, and sandwiches. They have been at their riverfront location since 2018 offering great service and exceptional food.

Gold winner: Dave’s Pizza

Favorite Burger Joint
Platinum winner: Metzger’s Tavern
Metzger’s is more than a local neighborhood bar. Known for their delicious burgers, bean soup, house-made chili and old-fashioned dipped dogs, you’ll never leave the tavern hungry.

Gold winner: HT’s Ice Cream & Grill

Favorite Kid-Friendly Restaurant
Platinum winner: Rockhouse on the River
Known for their famous strombolis and delicious pizzas, Rockhouse offers a family-friendly environment for food lovers of all ages. Located on the Henderson Riverfront, families can enjoy beautiful views while enjoying a variety of menu selections.

Gold winner: Tacoholics

Favorite BBQ Restaurant
Platinum winner: Homer’s barbecue
Homer’s Barbecue is a local barbecue joint located in downtown Henderson offering smoked meats, sandwiches, craft sides and more.

Gold winner: Thomason’s Barbecue

Favorite Breakfast
Platinum winner: Eastgate Family Restaurant
Eastgate Family Restaurant has been serving the community of Henderson for over four decades. They are known for their all-day breakfast offering classic favorites like fluffy pancakes, crispy bacon and perfectly cooked eggs. They believe breakfast should be a celebration of flavors and the Eastgate family loves being a place where friends and family gather around the table.

Gold winner: Brown Bag Burgers

Favorite Retirement/Assisted Living Facility
Platinum winner: The Homeplace of Henderson
The Homeplace of Henderson is a senior care facility offering trained staff, state of the art technology, a home-like atmosphere and more. Their residents have a range of socialization and activity opportunities, while also offering both personal and memory care services.

Gold winner: Redbanks

Favorite Pharmacy
Platinum winner: Butler’s Apothecary
Butler’s Apothecary is a hometown family-owned pharmacy located in downtown Henderson. They offer low prices on prescriptions, compounding, free pill packaging, free delivery, curbside service, immunizations, strep/flu/covid testing and a 24/7 pharmacist on call.

Gold winner: Dunaway’s Imperial Pharmacy

Favorite Pediatrician
Platinum winner: Rachel Farmer, MD
Dr. Farmer is a pediatrician with Deaconess Clinic Henderson — Pediatrics. She is board certified in the American Board of Pediatrics, and her goal is to “equip families and caregivers to provide the best care for their child.” 

Gold winner: Jennifer Liles, MD

Favorite OBGYN
Platinum winner: Sarah O’Nan, MD

Dr. Sarah O’Nan serves the community of Henderson at Deaconess Henderson — OBGYN. Currently accepting new patients, she is board certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider, CPR and First Responder, Neonatal Resuscitation, NCC Credential Fetal Monitoring and Basic Disaster Life Support. 

Gold winner: Jama Wells, PA-C

Favorite Primary Care Physician
Platinum winner: Scott A. Watkins, MD
Dr. Scott Watkins is an MD with Deaconess Clinic – Henderson and is board certified on the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Gold winner: Garah Wright, MD

Favorite Dental Office
Platinum winner: Audubon Dental
Audubon Dental offers a variety of services to the Henderson community including crowns, dentures, bridges, relines, fillings and more. They are committed to providing you with all your dental needs. 

Gold winner: Jessica H. Renaker, DMD

Favorite Medical Practice
Platinum winner: Deaconess Clinic 
Deaconess Clinic is open Monday-Friday offering a variety of services such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, gastroenterology and podiatry.

Gold winner: Owensboro Health Healthplex 

Favorite Chiropractic Office
Platinum winner: Baker Family Chiropractic
Baker Family Chiropractic is focused on holistic, natural healing. Some of their services include sports related and work injuries, pediatrics, pregnancy care and women’s health issues, in addition to school physicals, performance training, and more.

Gold winner: Nunez Chiropractic

Favorite Optometry Office
Platinum winner: Advanced Eyecare Associates
Advanced Eye Care Associates offers complete family eye care services including glasses, contacts and ocular disease. 

Gold winner: Oliver Optometrics

Favorite Urgent Care
Platinum winner: Owensboro Health Henderson Healthplex
Owensboro Health Henderson Healthplex offers both walk-in and virtual visits for minor emergencies. Providing services for common illnesses, minor injuries, screenings, imaging, eye and skin conditions, their urgent care providers are ready to care for you. 

Gold winner: Deaconess Clinic

Favorite Mental Health Practice
Platinum winner: RiverValley Behavioral Health 
Known as the Commonwealth’s designated regional Community Mental Health Center, RVBH offers a variety of services and support. From mental health to substance use treatment and specialized care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities of all ages, RVBH has been serving the region since 1967.

Gold winner: Stability Counseling  and Associates LLC

Favorite Accounting Firm
Platinum winner: Alexander Thompson Arnold PLLC
ATA is a full-service accounting firm. Their professionals provide a wide array of accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services for their clients ranging from small family-owned businesses to publicly traded companies, and international corporations.

Gold winner: Kemper CPA Group LLP 

Favorite Real Estate Agent
Platinum winner: Melinda Luntsford
Melinda Luntsford is an agent with ERA First Advantage Reality and has earned many local and national awards. Providing exceptional customer service, she is always just a call away from buying or selling your home or business.

Gold winner: Coleman Tramill

Favorite Real Estate Company
Platinum winner: ERA First Advantage Realty 
ERA First Advantage Realty provides quality customer service, making every real estate transaction as easy as can be. 

Gold winner: F.C. Tucker/Collier

Favorite Law Firm
Platinum winner: King, Deep and Branaman
King, Deep and Branaman have been serving the Henderson community since 1927. With seven attorneys and eight support staff, King, Deep and Branaman is able to provide legal representation across a wide variety of practice areas and is committed to betterment of the Henderson community and to providing professional and quality legal services to their friends and neighbors. 

Gold winner: Curt Hamilton Injury Law

Favorite Place for Rainy Day Fun
Platinum winner: Diamond Lanes Echo
Echo Lanes offers fun for the entire family with open lanes daily and reservation times available. With bowling specials, a variety of great food and as many games of bowling as you’d like to play, Echo Lanes is ready to welcome you.

Gold winner: Henderson County Public Library

Favorite Mortgage Company
Platinum winner: Field & Main Bank
Field & Main Bank doesn’t see their client as just a homebuyer but a friend. Offering exceptional customer service and education when it comes to purchasing a home, they are ready to offer their expertise to help you with your home buying experience. 

Gold winner: Liberty Federal Credit Union

Favorite Financial Advisory Group
Platinum winner: GuideWise Financial Group
GuideWise Financial Group is committed to helping you prepare for your life, whether it’s expected or unexpected. Some areas of focus include charitable giving, estate and retirement planning strategies, social security retirement benefits, investment management, family finances and more.

Gold winner: Field & Main Bank

Favorite Bank
Platinum winner: Field & Main Bank
Field & Main Bank is a community bank with Modern Craft Banking being their brand promise by offering a more personalized banking experience. From checking and savings accounts to card services, wealth management and more, they are ready to assist you with all of your banking needs. 

Gold winner: Independence bank

Favorite Credit Union
Platinum winner: Liberty Federal Credit Union
Liberty Federal Credit Union, formerly Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union, serves community members from all walks of life, and they are ready to help you with all of your credit union needs.  

Gold winner: Heritage Federal Credit Union

Favorite Insurance Agent 
Platinum winner: James Runion
James Runion is your local Henderson County Kentucky Farm Bureau agent and is ready to help get you the correct level of coverage. 

Gold winner: Chase Fulcher

Favorite Insurance Agency 
Platinum winner: Kentucky Farm Bureau
Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company is the #1 property and casualty insurance provider in the state. Offering two offices in Henderson County, it makes it easy for members of this community to access all the membership benefits. 

Gold winner: Best Insured

Favorite Auto Dealership
Platinum winner: Kate Faupel Ford
Kate Faupel Ford opened its doors with a new name in 2023 building on a legacy of Henderson’s automotive landscape. Rewriting the script of the traditional car-buying process, Kate Faupel Ford offers its customers a family-friendly and laid-back environment focusing on building genuine relationships and giving the customer the experience they deserve.

Gold winner: Henderson Chevrolet GMC

Favorite Funeral Home
Platinum winner: Tomblinson Funeral Homes
Tomblinson Funeral Homes offers a variety of funeral and cremation services to meet your family’s needs. Their directors will assist you and your family through every step from choosing the type of service and monument to offering life tribute videos in memory of your loved one. 

Gold winner: Rudy-Rowland Funeral Home

Favorite Photographer
Platinum winner: B + B Photography 
Brooke Hallmark and Brylee Cannon are two best friends just chasing their dream and telling your story with their cameras. 

Gold winner: Heart & Hustle Photography

Favorite Automotive Repair
Platinum winner: Hargis Collision
Hargis Collision is a family-owned and operated automotive body and repair shop. Offering top quality car care and delivering honest and professional warranty repair collision and body work, they are ready to serve you.

Gold winner: Classic Automotive Collision Center

Favorite Garden Center
Platinum winner: Days Garden Center LLC
Offering a full-service garden center with high-quality plants and personalized, knowledgeable service, Days Garden Center is dedicated to helping customers bring their vision to life. Comprehensive services include large inventory of plants, custom garden designs, expert planting advice and specialized plant care.

Gold winner: Benton’s Garden Center

Favorite Nonprofit
Platinum winner: matthew 25 aids services 
Serving those at risk for living with or impacted by HIV or other STIs, Matthew 25 offers comprehensive health care, education and support to improve the overall health and quality of life.

Gold winner: Habitat for Humanity

Favorite Florist
Platinum winner: J’Petals Floral & Gifts
J’Petals has been serving the Henderson community for over 14 years. From florals and gift registries to wedding and interior design services, they are ready to serve you. 

GOLD winner: Shaw’s Flowers Inc.

Favorite Kids Clothing Store
Platinum winner: Falcon Creek Boutique
Falcon Creek Boutique offers fashionable infant and children’s clothing, gifts, embroidery services and more.

Gold winner: Olive + Mae Boutique

Favorite Physical Therapy
Platinum winner: Ervin Physical Therapy
Specializing in post-surgery recovery, injuries, chronic pain, vertigo and concussions and soft tissue injuries, the expert team at Ervin PT in Henderson is ready to help with patient satisfaction in mind. Offering personalized treatment plans led by a Doctor of Physical Therapy, they are your trusted source for physical therapy in Henderson.

Gold winner: ProRehab Physical Therapy 

Favorite Gift Shop
Platinum winner: Beachbum Farms Designs and Company
Beachbum is a family-owned business located in downtown Henderson. They offer a wide variety of home decor, baby and wedding gifts, floral arrangements and more. 

Gold winner: Sweet Pea’s Gift Shop

Favorite Boutique
Platinum winner: The Olive Leaf
The Olive Leaf is located in downtown Henderson and owned by two sisters who always had a dream to own a store together. Offering a variety of stylish clothing, accessories, unique gifts and decor, the ladies at the Olive Leaf are ready to help you with all of your shopping needs.

Gold winner: Beachbum Farms Designs and Company

Favorite Date Night Spot
Platinum winner: Cap & Cork
Known for their high quality steaks, seafood and southern hospitality, Cap & Cork offers a relaxing, riverfront view making it the perfect spot for a date night. Offering the largest allocated bourbon selection in Western, KY – with over 14 draft beers and 50 varieties of wine – there is something for every couple at this stunning downtown gathering place. 

Gold winner: Hometown Roots

Favorite Place to take a Family Hike
Platinum winner: John James Audubon State Park
John James Audubon State Park is open year-round. Visitors can experience the beauty of the outdoors on their own hiking adventure, or they may hit the trails on a hiking event hosted by John James Audubon State Park.

Gold winner: Sandy Lee Watkins Park

Favorite Place to Work
Platinum winner: Henderson County Public Schools
The mission of the Henderson County Schools is to provide extraordinary educational opportunities for every student. The vision of Henderson County Schools is to excel as a national innovative leader in education. 

Gold winner: Field & Main bank

Favorite Plumber
Platinum winner: On the Marc Plumbing
Started in 2009, OTM specializes in plumbing construction from new homes to restaurants and everything in between.

Gold winner: A1 Complete Septic Services

Favorite Electrician
Platinum winner: T-Rex Electric
With over 20 years experience and serving the tri-state area, T-Rex Electric offers licensed and insured residential and commercial electricians. Services include new construction, diagnosis and repair, panel upgrades, LED lighting solutions, generators, outdoor/landscape lighting and more. Call T-Rex Electric to make your electrical needs extinct.

Gold winner: Jameson Electric Inc

Favorite Home Builder
Platinum winner: David Shelton Homes
Since 2004, David Shelton Homes’ mission is to give each homeowner an enjoyable and rewarding building experience. David ensures each build has quality construction by using quality materials and the best subcontractors in the tri-state while building relationships with the homeowners and having honest communication throughout the process. 

Gold winner: Belle Homes LLC

Favorite Heating & Air Company
Platinum winner: Woodard Cooling & Heating
Woodard Cooling and Heating is family-owned and operated with over 40 years of experience and knowledge. They specialize in both residential and commercial HVAC and are a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer. 

Gold winner: Hager and Son Heating & Cooling

Favorite Hair Salon
Platinum winner: Salon on Main
Located in beautiful downtown Henderson, Salon On Main has been open since November 2020. Offering eight stylist and a nail tech, they offer a variety of services including  color and cuts, waxing, hair extensions, blowouts, lash extensions, manicures and pedicures.

Gold winner: Beauty Box Salon

Favorite Barber Shop
Platinum winner: K.T.’s Barbershop
K.T.’s Barbershop is conveniently located in downtown Henderson and accepts both appointments and walk-ins. Offering haircuts for men, women and kids, straight razor shaves or hair services for those special occasions, these barber/stylists are ready to help give you the look you deserve.

Gold winner: Lee’s Barbershop

Favorite Pet Groomer
Platinum winner: Happy Hounds Pet Salon
Happy Hounds Pet Salon LLC has been open for 7 years. Offering 5 groomers, a boarding facility and training for pups, they have 41 years of combined experience making them one of the most experienced grooming shops in Henderson. 

Gold winner: Sleek & Savvy, LLC

Favorite Dance Studio
Platinum winner: the Dance factory
The Dance Factory opened in 1992. The studio offers dance instruction in a Christian environment for all ages from toddlers to adults. Classes include ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, and hip-hop along with several preschool class options. 

Gold winner: Fierce X Dance Studio

Favorite Park
Platinum winner: John James Audubon State Park
For over 75 years, John James Audubon State Park has been serving the Henderson community. It is a hidden treasure that is a favorite for family and children’s programs/events, local art exhibits, weddings, family reunions, school field trips and more. 

Gold winner: Central Park

Favorite Annual Event
Platinum winner: Tri-fest
The Henderson Breakfast Lion’s Club Tri-Fest is an annual fundraiser for local non-profits. All money raised by the Lion’s Club goes back to the community. This event offers a variety of vendors, music, food and carnival rides for the entire family to enjoy.

GOLD winner: The W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival

Favorite Preschool
Platinum winner: Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center
Thelma B. is providing a high-quality education through exploration and learning in a nurturing environment. Every child. Every effort. Every day. 

Gold winner: Busy Bees Educare

Favorite Gym/Fitness Center
Platinum winner: Henderson Family YMCA
The YMCA serves Henderson County youth, adults and families and helps promote youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility all while building a Christian spirit, mind and body. 

Gold winner: Planet Fitness