People's Choice 2025 Winners

For many, homeownership is a source of pride. But when the heat goes out on the coldest night or the AC quits during a summer scorcher, pride quickly turns to panic.

That’s where Cardinal Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Electric comes in. By joining the Cardinal Care Club, homeowners can take a proactive, stress-free approach to upkeep for the systems that make their homes run.

Holistic eye care: the ability to recognize that one’s eyes don’t live in a vacuum — nutrition, sleep, screen time, environment — all of it impacts vision and eye health. 

At Sokol Advanced EyeCare, the focus is on lifestyle and proactive steps to stay healthy rather than just reacting when something goes wrong.

Earlier this year, Eldon Homes won Best Emerging Home Builder — Wisconsin by BUILD Magazine; an Avid CX Benchmark Award from Avid Ratings; and recently Best Residential Builder — Madison from Madison.com People’s Choice Awards.

“It’s humbling and energizing,” said Rob Hostrawser, president of the Stoughton-based company. “Winning consistently reinforces that we’re building more than homes, we’re building trust, relationships and community.”

The exterior home improvement experts at Ridge Top Exteriors begin every job with the same approach: treat the home as if it were their own.

It’s this philosophy that led them to win four Madison.com People’s Choice Awards this year, for for best roofing, siding, windows and best home remodeling company.

It started with two boxes of fermented sausage for two sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean during the Gulf War. The next week, even more boxes were delivered. By the third week, Wisconsin River Meats was shipping hundreds of boxes as word spread among the crew.

Since then, John Hamm and David Mauer, owners and co-founders of Wisconsin River Meats, and their team of 30 butchers and sausage makers have shipped their products to thousands of military and diplomatic staff globally — not to mention countless hungry connoisseurs near and far. That’s how good the meat is.

Friendly staff, a carefully curated selection of plants, great prices and a dash of business savvy have earned Kopke’s Greenhouse a People’s Choice award for Best Local Garden Center for the fourth year in a row.

This impressive winning streak comes as no surprise to customers who know that Kopke’s stocks plants expertly selected with them in mind. Complete novices to gardening are guided to easy-to-grow options by staff eager to share their expertise. Those with a proven green thumb will find rare varieties that transform their hard-earned wisdom into beautiful blooms and head-turning landscapes.

If the old “you are what you eat” adage holds true, Willy Street Co-op customers have got to be some of the healthiest people around.

A Madison fixture for more than half a century, the co-op launched in 1974 when a group of local residents came together on a quest to feed their families fresh, high-quality food. From humble beginnings, the organization now boasts three buzzy and expansive stores — Willy East and Willy North in Madison and Willy West in Middleton — as well as a community space for classes, workshops and events.

Heating and cooling can account for nearly half of your home’s energy usage. But today, new technology, including Wi-Fi and smart thermostats, is making home heating and cooling much more efficient. And thanks to a bevy of tax credits and incentives, homeowners can begin to feel the temperature change that much sooner.

According to Eric Sherwood, general manager at All Comfort Services, this combination of smart home tech, credits, incentives and even advanced filters has resulted in higher energy efficiency, lower costs, increased comfort and better indoor air quality.

Tucked in Madison’s Waunona neighborhood just a block from the lake loop, Off Broadway Drafthouse is more than a neighborhood hangout — it’s a living piece of local history. Built in the early 1900s, the building has worn many names over the years. In 2015, husband-and-wife team Joe and Rita Klinzing gave it new life as Off Broadway Drafthouse, a name that nods to its location off West Broadway and its past as a community gathering place.

“The imagery that you see within our restaurant, along with the repurposed wood, all came from the original building,” said Joe, Off Broadway Drafthouse co-owner. “The murals are all from the Wisconsin Historical Society and depict things in this area that are of historical value.” 

Dina Opsahl is the first to admit she is obsessed with customer satisfaction.

“That’s our top priority,” said Opsahl, chief executive officer of RHD Plumbing & Remodeling. “We are absolutely committed to providing expert service to every single customer.”