myBurbank's Best 2026 Contest: 200+ Categories Open Now

myBurbank kicked off its 16th annual Best Contest on April 1, inviting Burbank residents to spend the month of April voting for their favorite local businesses, people, and places across more than 200 categories.

The contest runs through April 30 at 11:59 p.m., with winners announced Friday, May 8, on the myBurbank website and across its social media platforms.

Voting is straightforward. Head to myBurbank.com, pick your favorites across categories ranging from food and drink to retail, health and wellness, beauty, and professional services. Each participant gets one entry per valid email address.

The timing puts the contest squarely in spring, when Burbank’s sidewalks fill back up, patio season kicks into gear on San Fernando Boulevard and Magnolia Park, and the city’s small business ecosystem is running at full speed. For local owners, a win here carries weight. Businesses earning the top spot in their category receive a myBurbank’s Best 2026 certificate, an official window decal, and access to advertising opportunities to publicize the recognition.

That window decal is a bigger deal than it might sound. Walk through Magnolia Park or down Pass Avenue and you’ll see past winners displaying their hardware. In a city that takes pride in its local-first shopping culture, that kind of community stamp of approval moves the needle.

The contest covers an unusually wide spread for a city Burbank’s size. Two hundred-plus categories means the ballot reaches well beyond the obvious taco spots and coffee shops, though those categories are always among the most competitive. Fitness studios, tutoring services, hair salons, pet groomers, auto shops, neighborhood markets, and professional services all have a seat at the table. So do categories recognizing people, not just storefronts.

For residents, this is the annual chance to put names to the places that actually run their lives. The dry cleaner who has your suits ready early. The yoga studio that held classes through every disruption the last few years threw at the city. The pediatrician your neighbors all recommend. The contest gives those relationships a public form, and the businesses that earn the most votes get proof their regulars are paying attention.

Sixteen years in, myBurbank’s Best has become one of the more reliable signals of what Burbank residents actually value. The contest has run long enough to show patterns. Some businesses have held their categories for years. Others emerge from newer neighborhoods or fresher concepts and upset established favorites. The Media District’s restaurant scene, the boutiques and vintage stores along Magnolia Boulevard, the fitness and wellness spots scattered through the Rancho and Bel Aire neighborhoods all compete on equal footing, with votes as the only currency.

For business owners who want to compete seriously, the window is short. Thirty days goes fast when your customers are busy. Owners who get out in front of it early, whether through in-store signage, social posts, or direct outreach to regulars, tend to build momentum that carries through the month. The businesses sitting on the sidelines waiting for customers to notice the contest on their own typically do not.

Burbank has a deep bench of independent businesses that have held on through some genuinely difficult years, and this contest tends to remind the city of that. The winners announced on May 8 will include names that have been anchoring their blocks for decades alongside newer arrivals that have earned loyalty fast.

Voting is open now at myBurbank.com.