Another Milestone marked at the 2025 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards!

The 2025 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards was another record-breaking night, as the top stores across Northern Ireland came together at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Belfast.

The night proved to be another hugely successful one for County Down retailer, Tom McAvoy who scooped the coveted Northern Ireland Retailer of the Year 2025 title for his noted Milestone Rathfriland store.

One of Neighbourhood Retailer’s most successful winners, this is a record fifth time they have taken this prestigious award home.

Another successful year for the team at Milestone Rathfriland, they also scooped the Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 3 title and Fresh Food Store of the Year award.

In a particularly special part of the night, the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to CEO of Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson.

A deserving recipient, the 500-strong audience took to their feet, giving Brian a standing ovation as he received his award on stage. Approaching almost 40 years with Maxol, the award is a testament to Brian’s dedication to Maxol and the McMullan family.

A hush descended on the Grand Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel as all those present listened intently to Brian, who paid tribute to everyone at Maxol as well as the third generation of the McMullan family. He also had a special word of thanks for his wife, Alyson and daughter Jessica for their continued support over the years.

The night was a rousing success for another notable Northern Ireland retailer, as all four Creighton Group stores claimed titles, with Alan Gilliland from Creightons of Finaghy securing the highly regarded Store Manager of the Year award.

There were wins for Creightons of Blacks Road in Forecourt of the Year Cat 1, Food to Go Store of the Year for Creightons of Balmoral, Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 2 for Creightons of Finaghy and Butcher of the Year for JD Hunter & Co, Markethill.

There was huge excitement in the room for our new category, New Product Launch of the Year as everyone waited with bated breath to find out which company would take home the award – and a huge round of applause for the winners, McCain Vibes.

Swizzels Squashies Tropical were Highly Commended in this category and their representatives were also present on the night to collect their certificate.

Hosted once again by Donna Traynor, the winning stores across 18 categories were announced over the course of the gala awards evening, with store owners and representatives appearing on stage to collect their awards.

It was another record year for entries, culminating in a fantastic awards evening for winners and finalists on the night.

Huge congratulations to all of our winners and finalists on the night – find out the full list of winners below.

Retailer of the Year 2025:

Winner: Milestone Rathfriland

Lifetime Achievement Award:

Brian Donaldson

Store Manager of the Year:

Winner: Alan Gilliland, Creightons of Finaghy

New Product Launch of the Year:

Winner: McCain Vibes

**Lucy Smith from McCain Vibes was presented with their award by Daniel Comiskey, from category sponsor S&W Wholesale**

Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 1:

Winner: Lynch’s SPAR Coalisland

**Darren Given, from Lynch’s SPAR Coalisland is pictured with Geraldine Morgan, from Lockton, category sponsor**

Outstanding Customer Service of the Year:

Winner: Bell’s of Crossgar

**Gabriel Bell pictured with Alison McCluskey from Richmond Marketing, category sponsor**

CTN of the Year:

Winner: ViVO Dunamore

**Clare and Raymond Loughran from ViVO Dunamore are presented with their award by Matt Taylor, from Philip Morris Ltd, category sponsor**

Bakery of the Year:

Winner: Greens Food Fare

**Robert Houston, from Greens Food Fare is presented with his award by Caroline Rainey, editor of NI Baker, category sponsor**

Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 2:

Winner: Creightons of Finaghy

**Alan Gilliland (left) store manager at Creightons of Finaghy pictured with Michael Canning, from category sponsor, VaporLinQ**

Off Licence of the Year:

Winner: Kenny’s Food Fare, Kilrea

**Liz Galloway (right) from Kenny’s Food Fare, Kilrea pictured with Karen Watson, from category sponsor Drinks Inc./Musgrave MarketPlace**

Forecourt of the Year Cat 1:

Winner: Creightons of Blacks Road

**Pauline Elliott, store manager at Creightons of Blacks Road pictured with Gareth Kelso (left) and Brian Connolly from category sponsor, Monster Energy**

Sustainability Champion of the Year:

Winner: Musgrave NI

**David Higgins (centre) from Musgrave NI pictured with Michael Flannigan (left) from category sponsor FEB Chartered Accountants and Bill Penton, publisher of Neighbourhood Retailer**

Community Store of the Year:

Winner: Scotch Street Filling Station

Don Woolsey (centre) is pictured with sons Gordon (far left) and James (second right) as they’re presented with their award by Dave Mackay (second left) from category sponsor Allwyn and Bill Penton, publisher of Neighbourhood Retailer

Neighbourhood Store of the Year Cat 3:

Winner: Milestone Rathfriland

**Tom and Ann McAvoy (centre) pictured with store manager Noel Hadden (far left), daughter Katie and Gary Crory (far right) and Richard Horwood-Barrett (second left) from category sponsor, Suntory**

Butcher of the Year:

Winner: JD Hunter & Co. Markethill

**Adrian Boyd (right) from JD Hunter & Co. with Marty Donnelly from category sponsor, Spice O’ Life**

Food to Go Store of the Year:

Winner: Creightons of Balmoral

**Andrew Porter (left) was presented with his award by James Widdowson from category sponsor, Point Four**

Newcomer of the Year:

Winner: Nearby Monaghan Street, Newry

**Jennifer McQuillan is pictured with Michael Flannigan from category sponsor, FEB Chartered Accountants**

Forecourt of the Year Cat 2:

Winner: Maxol SPAR Belvoir

**Brendan Taggart was presented with their award by Manuela Zimmerman from category sponsor, AIR-serv**

Fresh Food Store of the Year:

Winner: Milestone Rathfriland