America's favorite small business

Plainview, N.Y.-based Trio Hardware won the Independent We Stand's third-annual Indie Awards, which honors small businesses across the country as part of the organization's advocacy efforts. 

More than 32,000 votes were counted for more than 250 businesses; 2,024 of them (10% of Plainview's population) went to Trio Hardware, a fixture of its Long Island community for 50 years.

With its large amassment of votes placing the store squarely in the top 10, the rest of the work was left to a panel of judges, who deemed Trio Hardware worthy of the title. 

The store is the subject of fierce loyalty and community involvement among Plainview members, who rallied around it to defeat the proposed opening of a national big-box store nearby. They were also responsible for restocking its shelves after it was razed by a fire in 1996. 

In addition to the 2013 Independent We Stand Independent Small Business of the Year Award, the store will also receive $15,000 in prizes.