The best of Yakima County, chosen by you.

Starting a business requires courage in any economic climate, in any location and in any month. Starting one in the Yakima Valley — where locals are loyal to the establishments they genuinely love — takes courage. And brains. And luck.

Our readers say the new local business that impressed them the most is Casa Core, a Pilates studio in west Yakima’s Glenwood Square. Casa Core was the top choice of readers.

There was a time, not long ago, when a hardworking person with a good idea, some smarts and a decent business plan could start and successfully operate a small business. It may have required a sturdy back, some helpful in-laws and the end of five-day workweeks, but you could do it.

That’s less true today. Take restaurants, for example. The Yakima Valley used to be home to many locally owned family restaurants. Some were quite successful and had passed from one generation to the next. But many of them are closed now and have been replaced with DoorDash or some plastic national chain.

So, congrats to the people behind Casa Core. You took the leap knowing how hard it would be and it seems to have paid off. Bravo.

This was a crowded field again this year, with strong reader support for Gatlin’s Breakfast & Cafe, LJ’s Authentic Seasoning, Graceful Web Studio, Homesmart Solutions and Jerry’s Pest Service.

Our animals can’t vote, which is perhaps the single most significant gap in the current democratic process and one that future reformers should seriously consider.

But their owners absolutely can vote, and they voted with great enthusiasm and clear conviction for Lincoln Veterinary Clinic. Basically, they’re saying that this is the professional I trust most with the being I love most. Full stop. That level of trust is not a small thing to earn in this category.

Great veterinary care requires every skill that excellent human medicine demands, plus the considerable additional challenge of working with patients who cannot describe their symptoms. Patients that may actively and creatively resist examination.

Our readers say the veterinarians and staff at Lincoln Veterinary Clinic navigate this challenge with genuine patience, evident clinical skill, and what can only be described as a deep and observable affection for animals that you simply cannot fake over time.

Pet owners — who tend to be extremely observant about how their animals are treated by strangers — will pick up on this quality in a veterinarian’s clinic within about four minutes.

A good vet staffer also communicates well with humans, which matters because they are the ones executing the treatment plan at home. Boarding services are usually available and are held to the same standard of care as the medical practice itself, which is a reassuring thing to know when travel makes leaving a pet unavoidable. The competition was no slouch in this year’s Best of the Valley readers’ poll. Tieton Drive Animal Clinic, Companion Animal Clinic, Summitview Cowiche Veterinarian, Yakima Valley Veterinary Clinic and Airport West Animal Clinic all polled well.

A collection agency appearing in a “Best Of” section is the sort of thing that causes a reader to double check the category. But here we are. And, like it or not, collection agencies provide a needed service to their clients.

The Business Times’ readers who voted in this year’s Best of the Valley poll say Yakima Adjustment Service is the best collection agency around.

Certainly, there are legal requirements governing the industry. But the best agencies know that tone, transparency and fair treatment are top priorities. They are direct. They are clear. And they operate within the law. But they also maintain high standards.

For creditors evaluating their options, the question is not only which agency pursues a debtor most aggressively, but which one does so in a way that collects past-due funds and reflects well on the creditor.

This year’s Best of the Valley voters also made a case for Evergreen Financial Services, Action Collectors and YCCS.

Something may have taken up residency in your home or your business that wasn’t invited, is not contributing to household expenses, and looks at your kitchen, walls and foundation as its next meal. They’re pests. Not freeloading relatives, but real pests. Insects and bugs.

Our readers say Yakima County’s best pest control service is Jerry’s Pest Service. At least that’s the top pick of our readers who voted in the 2026 BOV poll.

Pest control professionals are among the more genuinely underappreciated figures in the service industry. They arrive with expertise about creatures that most of us prefer to have zero knowledge about. And they deal with them efficiently and with the calm, understated confidence of someone who has seen considerably worse than whatever you’re dealing with.

The best pest control businesses bring energy to every job, large and small. They explain clearly what they find, what they are doing about it and they explain what you can do to proactively reduce the likelihood of follow-up episodes.

If bugs bug you, take a pro-active approach and sign-up for an annual pest control inspection. That gives you the upper hand in the man-versus-bug battle that many homes and most businesses deal with.

We got a lot of votes in this category, which is probably good news. Right? That should give you some comfort the next time you’re shopping in a store or eating in a restaurant.

Plenty of other pest control businesses got a lot of votes in the 2026 Best of the Valley readers’ poll. Who knew? Other top vote-getters were Pointe Pest Control, Colonial Lawn & Garden, Senske Services, Arbor Care Lawn & Pest Control and Evergreen Pest.

Money management is a subject that most adults feel underprepared for, quietly anxious about, and privately grateful that someone who knows what they’re doing can guide them through the process.

A good financial manager is the professional who can close that gap. The one who can help you prepare for your future. He or she can balance all the issues at stake and develop an investment scheme tailored to you.

The Yakima Valley’s best financial advisor, readers say, is Anders Clark of Edward Jones.

Top-notch financial managers don’t simply manage money. They manage human relationships with money. That requires an entirely different and considerably more nuanced skill set than spreadsheet proficiency and product knowledge alone.

They need to learn not just your numbers but your values, your timeline, your risk tolerance when markets move, and the specific version of the future you are working toward.

Then they need to translate that honest understanding into a plan you can follow with confidence and explain to yourself without a finance degree. Anders Clark of Edward Jones does this work with skill, patience, and the specific quality of explaining things clearly to clients who are sometimes encountering these concepts seriously for the first time.

Most people are behind on financial planning. A good advisor helps you establish where you stand and then plans something real from there.

The readers who completed our 2026 Best of the Valley poll also liked Edward Jones’ Bradley Meyers, Edward Jones’ Scott Holt, Capital Advisors, New York Life’s Lisa Mansfield and Northwestern Mutual’s Steve Wagar.

Nobody includes this category in their life planning. Nobody sits down with a fresh notebook and writes it at the top of any list. And yet here it is.

The quality of the legal representation you receive while splitting the sheets is very, very important. You need help. And don’t complain about the cost. It could very well be the best investment you ever make.

Our readers say Yakima County’s best divorce attorneys work at the Thorner Kennedy Gano & Murphy firm.

A great divorce attorney is many different things operating simultaneously. He must be a legal strategist with a steady presence.

He must protect your interests without inflaming the situation. He provides honest assessments. He keeps the process moving. He helps you make the best possible decision.

That is the work. Our winner and the other nominees perform it with professionalism and genuine skill.

Readers who participated in the 2026 Best of the Valley poll were not shy about their opinions here. Other popular firms are Savage Family Law, Hazel & Schwab Family Law, Yakima Law and Lauren A. Ellis, Family Attorney PLLC. They all made a strong case.

Most people don’t need a lawyer until the day they do. And that’s when they ask friends and family for a recommendation.

Our readers say the Yakima Valley’s best overall law firm is Tamaki Law. That’s a little odd because Tamaki Law, headed by the well-known and well-respected Blaine Tamaki, specializes in personal injury cases. It doesn’t generally offer other legal services.

But I guess being the “Best Overall Law Firm” can mean different things to different people. And, apparently, some of our readers are interpreting “best overall” to mean Tamaki Law is just so darned good at what they do that they’re the Best Overall firm around.

Being named Best Overall Attorney reflects a reputation built over time through consistent good work, rather than just through good marketing. Tamaki Law has earned that trust through steady excellence and by treating their clients with respect.

The valley’s legal community includes many capable lawyers. Being named the best among them represents something more. Congratulations to Tamaki Law on recognition built from genuine and sustained merit.

For Yakima Valley residents navigating a legal matter, the community’s answer to the question of whom to call has become shorter and more specific over time. The list of firms and individual lawyers that were repeatedly nominated this year is long and includes Abeyta Nelson, Ritchie-Reiersen Injury & Immigration Attorneys, Yakima Law, Tim Allen of TDA Law and Paul M. Larson of Larson Griffee & Pickett.

Choosing a private school for your child is among the most consequential and emotionally charged decisions a parent makes. It’s loaded with hope, anxiety and the weight of wanting to get it exactly right.

Yakima County’s best private school — according to our readers who voted in this year’s Best of the Valley poll — is St. Joseph Marquette Catholic School in downtown Yakima.

What distinguishes an excellent private school from one that is merely expensive with a nice brochure?

At its core, it is the combination of genuine academic rigor with real, individualized attentiveness to each student — knowing not just where a child performs academically but knowing who he or she really is.

Good private schools have teachers who instruct with skill. Teachers who care. Teachers who have a clear understanding of what their students need.

Good private schools also have administrators who communicate with families. Administrators who create an environment that challenges students. And one that makes students feel secure enough to take the intellectual risks that real learning requires.

Parents at good private schools are known by the staff. And they are involved. Not just the parents, but the entire family.

Graduates leave prepared not merely with academic credentials but as people who know how to think clearly, engage honestly and navigate difficulty productively.

Other Yakima Valley private schools popular with our voters were Riverside Christian School, La Salle High School, Yakima Adventist Christian School, Montessori School of Yakima and Christ the Teacher Catholic School.

Financial numbers tell a specific and detailed story, but not everyone speaks the language fluently or wants to learn it.

Accounting professionals need two seemingly opposite skills. One, math. Two, the ability to explain financial information in clear, functional English to people who could care less.

It’s essential, unglamorous and important work. Accountants turn raw financial information into useful data. A top-notch accounting firm does more than accurately file tax returns. They advise. They identify patterns in statistics. And they flag opportunities and risks before either becomes consequential.

And they do all of this while remaining accessible to their clients.

Good accounting firms do the technical work with the rigor it demands and the interpersonal work with the patience it requires. They watch their clients’ numbers so their clients can watch their businesses. They schedule quarterly check-ins for business clients throughout the year, not just at tax time.

Business Times’ readers who voted in this year’s Best of the Valley poll say the Yakima Valley’s top accounting firm is Baker Tilly (formerly Moss Adams). Other notable nominees popular with our readers are Petersen CPAs, Alegria, JV Accounting, Soelberg Peralta, and Villbrandt & Co.

The Yakima Valley grows things. That’s not just one of the region’s characteristics. It is a foundational part of the place’s identity. It is embedded in its economy and its daily life and the way people around here think about the ground beneath their feet.

The rich agricultural soil, the reliable growing season and the deep tradition of cultivation that runs through the valley’s history means that gardening here is not simply a hobby. It is something closer to a civic identity and a shared inheritance.

There are lots of places around Yakima County that sell gardening supplies and equipment. You can get everything you need at them, whether “garden” means a backyard plot or a working agricultural operation.

The best of these operations are half retail and half free advice — and they say it’s the expertise that brings customers back. The products are usually high quality and carefully curated, of course. But staff knowledge is what keeps gardeners coming back, year after year through successes and setbacks.

My grandfather, Morris Wesselius, was a backyard farmer in his retirement years. (I inherited his first name as my middle name.) He and my grandmother had a small house on the Old Naches Highway near Gleed. But it had a backyard that was probably two acres and every year my grandfather filled it with pansies. Not wussy pansies, but seasonal flower pansies. He put up scarecrows and phony “cats” to keep the birds away. Every year, my grandfather wholesaled his flowers to a retail nursery on South First Street near what is now Home Depot. It was called Farmer Pete’s and later became Morton’s and Sons Nursery and then Country Farm and Garden.

We asked our readers in our annual Best of the Valley poll which gardening supply business they preferred and the nod went to — you guessed it — Country Farm and Garden. A lot of votes were scattered among Roots Nursery, Stein’s Ace Hardware, Helms True Value, Verdant Yakima and Home Depot.

Money is, in its most fundamental dimension, a matter of trust. You trust your financial institution with the resources you have built over the years. So, it seems reasonable to expect that institution to treat you politely and fairly.

Our readers know the difference between a financial institution that views them as customers and one that views them as members.

That distinction may seem semantic, but it makes a difference.

Credit unions are structured differently. They’re member- owned, locally oriented and built in a way that aligns the institution’s financial health with its members’ wellbeing. Most credit unions translate this structural advantage into competitive products, rates and service.

Not too many years ago, there were just a handful of credit unions in the Yakima Valley. And most of them — maybe all of them — were small. They usually had a single location and small staffs. And their services were basic and minimal. But they usually offered the best loan rates in town. (Who knows? Maybe they offered great loan rates back then because they were lean and mean loaning machines.)

Those days are over. Now most local credit unions are quite substantial. They have big buildings, lots of staff, competitive loan rates and more branches than many trees. Yet, somehow, they still offer very competitive rates. Often the best around.

Credit union staffers nowadays are knowledgeable and accessible. Their loan officers treat members like they’re neighbors making requests rather than risk profiles seeking permission. Decisions are made by people who understand the community because they live and work here.

Credit union membership has genuine advantages. And that difference shows up in your account statement and in every interaction with someone who knows your name.

The readers who took the time to vote in our 2026 Best of the Valley poll said Solarity Credit Union is the best around. Other strong vote- getters were GESA Credit Union, HAPO Credit Union, Washington State Employees Credit Union, ICCU (now CALCOE Federal Credit Union) and Self-Help Credit Union, which I had never heard before today. But it has a branch in the 1100 block of Nob Hill Boulevard in Yakima and another in both Sunnyside and Grandview.

The Yakima Valley has no shortage of banking options — national chains, regional institutions, and everything in between.

The readers who participated in our annual Best of the Valley poll know what local and national banking look like. They say great banking is ultimately about reliability and consistency over time.

The technology needs to work when you need it to work because, after all, we’re talking about real money here.

The branches need to be staffed by professionals who solve problems rather than redirect every question to a national call center.

The fee structure should be simple enough that you don’t need to decode your statement. And somewhere underlying all of this should be the sense that your bank functions as a partner in your financial life rather than a vendor you are locked into because your direct deposit has to go somewhere.

Business owners in the Yakima Valley say they want banking relationships with professionals who understand their businesses. Bankers who respond quickly when something needs attention. And bankers who act as partners in the decisions that matter.

Our readers want bankers who, simply enough, are pleasant.

These are not small achievements given the category. But the banks need to earn your business by working hard and being fair. Our readers showed the most interest in Yakima Federal Savings and Loan. Other favorites were Banner Bank, Heritage Bank, Chase, U.S. Bank and Cashmere Valley Bank.

The hardware store is the last great temple of self-reliance in the modern commercial landscape. It’s where you go when something breaks. Or when you need some keys cut. Or a new bathmat. Or a toilet plunger from the dozen on display. It’s all there, in a hardware store.

Hardware stores offer lots of guy things. Knives and wrenches and lawn chairs and snow shovels and barbeques — things like that. A hardware story is a man cave writ large.

Another thing guys like about hardware stores? The workers all wear a uniform. The same uniform. (A uniform uniform?) It’s a vest. And it’s a vest no matter where you shop. Corporate box stores or neighborhood places where you have to count your own nails out of a larger box. They all have vests.

Long-time employees wear theirs frayed and stained. I have a theory that the vests at box stores are color-coded so you can tell the rank of the person you’re talking with. Red seems to be entry level. They’re usually worn over a T-shirt and jeans.

Hardware stores are the places to go for tools and stuff. They offer the quiet steady counsel of people who know what gauge wire you need instead of the gauge you think you need.

Our readers tell us a great hardware store is navigable by someone who does not yet know exactly what they need. The staff are the critical and irreplaceable variable here. They must be knowledgeable across a wide range of trades and materials. They must be available when you are looking confused and checking your phone for a diagram. And they must be genuinely patient with customers who arrive with a description of a problem rather than a specific part number.

At the best hardware stores, the staff does all that. They listen to the problem. They ask clarifying questions. And then they walk you to the right aisle rather than pointing vaguely. Service like that can be the difference between a 15-minute trip and an entire afternoon of miserable guessing.

Here’s why: The inventory is almost overwhelming. The prices are honest. And the return policy is sensible and administered without drama.

As usual this was a crowded field among our Best of the Valley readers’ poll voters. Stein’s Ace Hardware took home the hardware (ha!) this year. Other well-respected local stores were Helms True Value, Hometown Ace Hardware, Roy’s Ace Hardware, Helms East Valley True Value and Ideal Lumber & Hardware.

Jewelry is the business of significant moments in the most literal sense — the proposal you have been planning for months, the anniversary that marks something important and durable, the gift that carries meaning your words alone cannot quite deliver with the precision you want. Finding the right piece for the right moment requires a store that understands both the craft and the occasion. A jewelry store that has been serving both with distinction. A great jewelry store is not simply an attractive display of inventory in well-lit cases. It is an experience that begins the moment you walk in. It is staff who listen with real attention to what you are trying to do. Who can translate “something she would actually wear every day” or “classic but not ordinary” into actual pieces that are precisely those things.

Jewelers know the importance of their work. The engagement ring that will be on someone’s hand every day for decades. The anniversary pieces that mark the milestones of long and valued relationships. And the personal items people choose for themselves as recognition of something worth noting.

Craftsmanship in a good jewelry store is excellent throughout the range of price points. Custom work is handled with the care and detail that distinguishes a genuinely skilled jeweler.

The experience of simply being in the top-notch store — browsing, asking, considering — is pleasant and unhurried. The repair and restoration work, done in-house by skilled staff who treat sentimental pieces with real reverence, has salvaged many memorable pieces. Our readers say Parry Jewelers is the best jewelry store around. Other highly praised jewelers are Dunbar Jewelers, Bergeron Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Morgan Jewelers and Reyna’s Joyeria.

The Yakima Valley takes its agricultural heritage seriously. Perhaps nowhere is that seriousness more quietly present than in the dairy industry, where local dairy farmers work every day to make sure the quality of every product that reaches a table is the best it can be. The best milk, cottage cheese and ice cream products there are.

Unfortunately, this is a struggling industry. Milk products are commodities, so their prices fluctuate with the market. And right now, margins are thin. Overhead and operating costs are high. It’s not a great combination.

And then there’s the government, whose dictatorial practices, strict regulatory attitude and hypersensitivity to so-called environmental concerns has shut down some of the valley’s largest and oldest dairy operations. The owners were financially impacted, of course, but so were literally hundreds of full-time workers who lost their jobs when the dairies shuttered.

Great dairies are the result of a combination of careful animal welfare guidelines, thoughtful land management and the hard- won knowledge of producing a product that meets an exacting standard every single day of the year regardless of season, weather, or circumstance.

There are no days off in dairy farming — a reality that most of us are insulated from when we reach into a refrigerator case and pull out a carton without a second thought.

Good dairies do this daily, demanding, unglamorous work with a commitment to quality that is evident in the product. Milk that tastes like milk. Butter with the flavor and performance of butter made the right way.

Our readers say Moxee Dairy is the cream of the dairy crop. Also nominated were J&K Dairy and Veldhuis Dairies.

The CBD retail market has matured considerably from its early years of ambiguous products in unmarked containers on shelves that seemed to be organized according to a system nobody had fully explained.

The heavily regulated industry is closely monitored. The staff is informed and available. There are quality-verified products for sale from traceable sources and full transparency about what you are buying. And there is an environment where customers feel comfortable asking questions.

Navigating CBD products requires knowledge that most people don’t have. What delivery format is most appropriate for what you are trying to address? What dosage makes sense for a first-time user? What is the difference between these two products that look similar but are priced differently?

Good CBD retail is an educational service. Stores provide assistance without condescension and without pressure to purchase before you are comfortable with your choice. They can explain sourcing clearly and walk you through the testing and verification process in a way that builds genuine, well-founded confidence.

In a market where product quality and potency vary enormously between brands and even between batches, transparency is the most valuable thing a retailer can offer. That understanding is the entire service. Loyalty programs reflect genuine appreciation for regular customers.

Readers were not shy about their favorites. Our Best of the Valley top vote-getter is Mill Creek Natural Foods. Other places known for their ability to chill you out are Slow Burn, Yakima Weed Co., Happy Time Weed Dispensary, Fire Cannabis Co. and Mail N More.

Gun ownership in the Yakima Valley is taken seriously.

The county’s best gun store — The Range — was recognized by our Best of the Valley voters who value not just inventory depth and competitive pricing, but the knowledge, professionalism and integrity that should be the defining characteristics of any such establishment.

A great gun store staff knows their products. Staff should be able to discuss the specifics of different firearms, whether the customer is buying for hunting, for home protection, for competitive shooting, or for a collection they are building.

Beyond product knowledge, the best operations in this category approach what they sell with consistent and visible thoughtfulness. The Range does that without exception.

Customers describe staff who are genuinely helpful and informative rather than high- pressure. Staff who make the buying experience educational rather than opaque and who bring a patient approach to a first-time buyer.

Their inventory is curated with care, the service capabilities are strong, and the overall operation reflects an establishment that takes its role and its responsibility in the community seriously.

Other gun store nominees that received votes are Bass Pro Shops, Gimme Guns, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bowlby’s Gun & Pawn.

The casino experience in the Yakima Valley carries a particular character — connected to the region’s tribal heritage and history, embedded meaningfully in the local economy, and offering entertainment that ranges from the focused and serious business of gaming to live entertainment events, quality dining, and the particular pleasure of an evening that has a different texture from most.

Popular casinos are judged by not just the games, but the complete atmosphere, the quality of the service, the food that competes on its own merits, and the overall sense at the end of an evening that the time was genuinely well spent.

A good casino manages to sustain excitement without being overwhelming, to stay busy without sliding into chaos, and to remain enjoyable regardless of whether the night concludes with more money or less than you arrived with.

The mathematical reality of gaming is generally understood — everyone who walks through the door knows how the odds are structured — but the best casinos create an overall experience compelling enough that the evening holds its value either way.

They accomplish this through a combination of quality gaming options, staff who are professional and genuinely personable, dining that stands on its own, and entertainment programming that draws visitors who might not have come exclusively for the gaming floor. Venues are well-maintained throughout.

A well-run casino operates with competence. The overall experience reflects people who take hospitality genuinely seriously.

Our Best of the Valley voters say the casino that puts the whole package together is Legends Casino Hotel in Toppenish.

Roll with it, Yakima Valley.

Other companies popular with our voters are Casino Caribbean Yakima and Nob Hill Bowl & Casino.

Nobody wakes up hoping they need a medical clinic. And yet — because life insists on being precisely what it is regardless of our preferences — medical clinics are necessary, and the quality of your experience inside one matters.

Good clinics are where people are being genuinely and professionally helped by people who chose this work for good reasons.

The best medical clinics have a waiting room that does not feel like the waiting room in a movie.

It has staff who make sustained eye contact, remember your name between visits, and do not make you feel like a numbered inconvenience who arrived during a busy period.

It has providers who explain what is happening in language that does not require a medical degree and three reference books to understand.

Its appointments begin approximately when they were scheduled to begin.

In modern healthcare, this qualifies as something approaching a miracle and should be acknowledged as such.

Good clinics leave patients feeling genuinely heard, clearly informed and cared for in a way that is what healthcare is supposed to feel like.

For a community that works as hard as the people in the Yakima Valley do, having clinics that are this capable and easy to access is significant and real.

Our readers prefer Yakima Integrative Health as their favorite medical clinic. Other favorites were MultiCare Yakima Memorial Cornerstone Medicine, Total Care Clinics, Best Practices Healthcare Clinic, Ausink Family Medicine and Compassion Family Medicine.

Every January, the Yakima Valley decides it is time to get serious about fitness, and gyms across the region brace for the incoming wave with the patience of people who have seen it all before.

What makes a fitness facility work for real people with real lives? Equipment that functions as advertised on the day you need it. Space that doesn’t require you to schedule your workout around the elbows and preferences of a dozen strangers simultaneously. Staff who are encouraging without being aggressive. And cleanliness that passes a serious sniff test, literally.

There is something else that is harder to quantify: An overall atmosphere that makes exercise feel like a choice you make rather than a sentence you serve. A place whose members say, “This is a place I want to be.”

Whether you are there to lift weights, run without going anywhere, or attend a class that challenges your cardiovascular system and your self-concept, try out a health facility before buying a membership. Test drive the place.

Our readers say the best fitness facility around is the Yakima YMCA. Also earning a pile of votes are Planet Fitness, Yakima Athletic Club, Achieve Health & Fitness, Anytime Fitness and Volution Fitness.

The people of the Yakima Valley work hard, and the muscles of its residents know this in a very detailed and location-specific way.

Between demanding labor, long commutes that hurt your back, genuinely ambitious recreational activities, and the cumulative physical toll of simply existing in a valley that expects a great deal from the people who call it home, there is significant and ongoing demand for skilled massage therapists.

The best massage therapist combines knowledge with an almost intuitive ability to find the precise spot in your shoulder blade that has been quietly but insistently ruining your quality of life for years. And to address it with targeted, effective precision.

This is partly anatomy, partly years of cultivated experience, and partly what regular clients describe as an unmistakable gift. Appointments are consistently booked well in advance at most places.

New massage therapy clients are advised to schedule with a lot of lead time. The waitlist is worth the patience required.

You will leave feeling younger and substantially more optimistic about your body’s willingness to cooperate with your intentions. That is the Serenity Day Spa experience, reliably delivered every visit. The intake process is thorough and genuinely attentive in a way that makes the session itself more effective, because they listen carefully and ask the right questions before they begin.

Other massage therapy nominees that received a lot of votes: Kroner Chiropractic, A La Mode Spa, Ummelina Spa Retreat, Energy Wellness Center and PNW Paradise Massage and Spa.

A general confession, offered on behalf of the entire Yakima Valley. Most of us did not floss with anything approaching the frequency and consistency we claimed at our last appointment. We know this. The dental hygienist knows this. The dentist knows this. The specific tool they use to confirm this knows this. Let us simply acknowledge it honestly and move forward together into a better chapter.

The valley’s best dental practice — the one voted most trusted, most skilled, and most capable of making a dental appointment feel like something other than a long-scheduled reckoning with your personal choices — is Cowiche Canyon Dental.

Great dentistry is about considerably more than clinical excellence, although Cowiche Canyon Dental brings that in abundance. It is about the very specific and difficult art of making anxious people comfortable in a setting that involves bright lights, small sharp instruments, and the sound of equipment that people have complicated feelings about from childhood.

The staff at Cowiche Canyon Dental have mastered this art at a high level. Patients who have spent their adult lives making dental appointments and then, at the last possible moment, canceling them have shown up at Cowiche Canyon Dental, sat in the chair, stayed for the whole appointment, and — most tellingly — rescheduled at the desk before leaving.

The hygienists are thorough and efficient without making about the flossing situation, even though the evidence is right there and they are clearly aware of it. That restraint is a the experience theatrical. Treatment plans come with real explanations rather than just numbers attached to procedures. And at no point does anyone make you feel bad form of grace. That is also Cowiche Canyon Dental. The reminder system is genuinely useful for anyone whose relationship with scheduling dental care has historically been more optimistic than reliable. It works.

Other companies popular with our voters were Chalet Dental, Advanced Dental Care, Creekside Dental, Riverbend Family Dental and Avanta Dental of Yakima.

It takes real courage to recognize that you need support and then to take the additional step of seeking it out.

Finding the right therapist or counseling service can make the difference between running in place with your difficulties and moving through them toward something better. The Yakima Valley — a community increasingly willing to treat mental health as seriously and matter-of-factly as physical health — voted Comprehensive Healthcare as the best counseling service in the region.

That is a vote with genuine meaning, cast by people who understand what is at stake in this category.

Clients of Comprehensive Healthcare describe their experience as positive. The therapists combine clinical training and technical skill with a genuine aptitude for the human dimension of the work, which is where all the consequential things actually happen.

The Yakima Valley has needed accessible, quality mental health support for a long time, and Comprehensive Healthcare has been a meaningful part of providing it. To everyone who voted in this category: the act of having a strong opinion about where to find good mental health care is itself a healthy sign.

Comprehensive Healthcare is a good place to start. New appointments are available with reasonable lead time, which matters when the decision to ask for help has been made and the momentum should be maintained Also getting votes were Deena Mason, Kendra Wagar, LMHC, PLLC, Cascade Psychological Health, Assurance Healthcare & Counseling Center and Tawnya Wright.

There are things that qualify as necessities and then there are the things that remind you, with some regularity, why it is good to be alive and present in your own body.

The best spa in the Yakima Valley — Ummelina Spa Retreat, according to readers who approached this category with all the seriousness it has earned — falls firmly and without apology into the second category. This is not a luxury. This is maintenance on your body and soul.

This is proactive, intelligent care for the part of you that cannot be addressed by a vitamin or a good night’s sleep or a brisk walk through an orchard.

The best spa experience begins before you open the front door, because the anticipation of a genuinely great spa visit is itself a small treat. But Ummelina Spa Retreat delivers the goods.

The treatments are exceptional. The staff are skilled, attentive, and possess an impressive intuition about what each person needs.

Regulars describe the experience as necessary. They are not being dramatic. Book something. Come back transformed. Gift certificates are an excellent idea that would be appreciated by friends and family.

Voters also made a good case for Serenity Day Spa, A La Mode Spa, Energy Massage & Float Spa, Elysian Spa and Studio 16 Salon & Spa.

Let us begin by acknowledging, clearly and without hedging, the particular variety of personal courage that is required to lie completely still while a skilled professional applies very warm substance to your skin and then — with practiced, unhesitating efficiency and complete professional calm — removes both the substance and whatever was growing beneath it.

This is not a service designed for the faint-hearted, and the person performing it with competence and kindness deserves respect and recognition. The best body waxing in the area is done at Ummelina Spa Retreat, and voters cast their ballots with the confidence of people who have been going there long enough to know exactly what to expect and are fully at peace with every aspect of the process.

Great waxing, at its technical core, is about speed, precision, and an almost criminally reliable ability to complete the work before your nervous system has entirely processed what is currently happening.

Ummelina Spa Retreat employs technicians who accomplish this with the focused, unruffled efficiency of professionals who have genuinely seen everything, remain professionally unimpressed by anyone’s threshold for discomfort, and would never dream of making a client feel anything other than completely at ease.

They are skilled. They are kind without being falsely reassuring. They will tell you it will not be that bad, and they will be entirely correct, and you will still grip the edge of the table slightly because some things simply are what they are regardless of preparation. The results, however, are consistently excellent. The compliments you receive afterward are entirely yours to enjoy and accept graciously.

Ummelina Spa Retreat’s aftercare products are worth purchasing on the spot, because they have been selected by people who have tested them carefully and know which does what.

Plenty of other body waxing names turned up on ballots across the Valley: Alexandra’s on Second, Bare Bliss, CandiGurlz Boutique & Salon, AVS Beauty and Synergy MedAesthetics.

Your hair is the first thing the world sees about your physical presence. It’s the last thing you check with a critical eye before leaving the house in the morning. And — on those days when everything else feels uncertain and slightly out of control — sometimes the one remaining thing you can manage.

That is a lot of responsibility for a single salon to carry well. The best in Yakima County, as determined by our readers, is Mosaic Salon.

Walking into a genuinely great salon is a different experience from walking into a merely fine one. There is a particular atmosphere that lets you know you are in the hands of people who love what they do and have spent a lot of time getting very good at it. Usually, a salon is organized but not clinical, creative but not chaotic, confident but not intimidating. Good salons carry that atmosphere consistently. The stylists listen. Not just to the words coming out of your mouth, but to what you want, which are sometimes different things. They can navigate that distinction thoughtfully and without making anyone feel foolish. That’s a genuinely rare and valuable skill.

The cuts are clean and precise. The color work is exceptional across a range of techniques and tones. The conversation is good. The coffee is hot and offered without asking. And you leave looking exactly as you hoped you would when you booked the appointment four weeks ago. Yes, four weeks. Bring reference photos.

There were a lot of votes in this category in our annual Best of the Valley readers’ poll. Other top picks were Nouveau Spa & Salon, Salon Sapphire, Capello Salon & Spa, Klassy Stylz Salon and Studio 16 Salon & Spa.

Choosing an assisted living facility for a family member is among the most emotionally weighted and complex decisions a family will face. They deal with genuine care needs, difficult financial realities, quality of life considerations, and the profound and unrelenting desire to ensure the person they love is safe, comfortable, and treated with the dignity she deserves.

What makes an assisted living facility genuinely excellent rather than simply licensed and adequate? It is, above everything, the culture of care — the way staff engages with residents not during formal assessments or when family members are present and observing, but in the daily moments that constitute the actual texture of life in that place.

Quality retirement facilities have built a culture of care. It begins at the leadership level and expresses itself in how staff members interact with each resident every ordinary moment of every day. Families describe visiting these facilities and finding their loved ones engaged, comfortable, and treated as individuals whose histories and preferences and personalities are known and honored. Not as residents to be managed efficiently.

Care plans at the facilities are followed consistently and updated thoughtfully. Communication with families is proactive, specific, and honest rather than generic and reassuring. The environment is clean, well-maintained, and deliberately designed to support the people who live there. That is not the minimum. That is excellence.

For families navigating the search for the right residential care setting, experts suggest you visit in person, talk to staff during an unscheduled drop-in, and observe how ordinary daily moments are handled.

Our readers say The Terraces at Summitview is the best assisted living facility around. Other facilities receiving a significant number of votes are Highgate Senior Living, Fieldstone of Yakima, Ponderosa Assisted Living Community, Avamere at Englewood Heights and Brookdale Senior Living.

The adult family home model of residential care offers something that larger institutional facilities cannot replicate. They provide a homelike environment where individualized care is given in an intimate small-group setting as close in character to actual family life as possible.

Many people believe deeply in this model when it is practiced well.

In an adult family home operating at its best, the relationship between the people providing care and the residents receiving it is personal in a way that simply cannot scale. Each resident is known as an individual.

Their daily routines are understood and respected. Their preferences are accommodated in the natural flow of a household. And the rhythm of the home reflects the people living in it.

Quality adult family homes have built exactly this environment and sustained it.

Residents are described by family members as being treated like household members first and as care recipients second, which is the distinction that matters most.

Families of residents describe the specific and lasting peace of mind that comes from visiting and witnessing consistent, warm and engaged interaction between their loved ones and the people responsible for their daily care.

As usual, this category was a crowded field in the Business Times’ Best of the Valley readers’ poll. Apple Creek Adult Family Homes was named as Best of the Valley. Other big vote-getters were Cedar Hills Adult Residential Care, Izzy’s Adult Family Home, Caroline’s Haven AFH, Ellen House and Fieldstone Adult Family Home.

Nursing homes serve the members of our community who require the highest level of care. That includes skilled nursing attention around the clock, medical management of complex and often multiple conditions, and the full support of a trained, consistently present team for every dimension of daily life.

The quality of that care is, in the most direct sense, a reflection of community values made daily and concrete.

Great skilled nursing care requires clinical excellence. Medications must be managed with precision. Care protocols must be followed consistently. Medical oversight should be provided that identifies and prevents complications before they escalate.

Great nursing homes provide this clinical quality without compromise. And skilled nursing care is about the human dimensions that clinical performance metrics do not reach.

It’s also the certified nursing assistant who knows that a particular resident prefers her window treatment positioned a certain way and handles it every morning without being asked. And the nurse who notices that someone seems quieter than her usual self and may need attention.

The activities professional who finds meaningful ways to engage residents even when physical or cognitive limitations make it challenging.

The best nursing homes employ people who do this work with genuine commitment and care for their patients. Families describe visiting and finding their loved ones not merely cared for but genuinely tended to as people who matter to the staff who see them every day. Our most vulnerable residents deserve this level of care.

The Yakima Valley’s best nursing home — as recognized by our readers — is Highgate Senior Living. Readers were not shy about their other favorites, including Good Samaritan Health Care Center, The Terraces at Summitview, Crescent Health Care, Avamere at Englewood Heights and Landmark Care & Rehabilitation.