Every year, this special edition reminds me why we do what we do.
The Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s Best of the Region is, at its core, a community list. Hundreds of Quad Citizens cast votes for the businesses, professionals and organizations they genuinely trust, support and believe in — making this one of the most authentic reflections of our regional economy you’ll find anywhere.
Though I’ve served as editor of our sister publication, the Corridor Business Journal, for nearly four years, this is my first year as executive editor of both the CBJ and the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal. As someone who grew up in the Quad Cities, I’m continually impressed by the companies and leaders who call this region home — and by the growth they inspire in the communities around them. This list is a reminder of why that pride runs so deep.
You’ll find plenty of familiar names in the list of winners below. Quad City Bank & Trust, Rouse Consulting Group and Streamline Architects continue to earn the confidence of our readership year after year — a testament to what sustained excellence looks like in this market. Centennial Tax & Accounting and Ruhl&Ruhl are back as well, as reliable as ever.
This year also brought some exciting surprises, as we added five new categories to our list: Best Fitness Studio, Best Veterinarian, Best Fine Arts Venue, Best Recreational Sports Facility and Best Gym.
That balance of consistency and fresh energy is what makes the Best of the Region such a meaningful read every year. Flip through the following pages to see who won.
Congratulations to every winner, finalist and the teams behind them. You earned this.
— Alexandra Olsen
Best of the Region 2026
BEST SMALL BUSINESS
1st: Frontier Hospitality Group
2nd: Rock River Electric
3rd: Hawkeye Commercial Real Estate
BEST WEALTH MANAGEMENT TEAM
1st: Quad City Bank & Trust
2nd: Tower Trust & Investment Company
3rd: 211 Financial
BEST BANK
1st: Quad City Bank & Trust
2nd: Blackhawk Bank
3rd: CBI Bank & Trust
BEST CREDIT UNION
1st: IHMVCU
2nd: Ascentra Credit Union
3rd: Gas & Electric Credit Union
BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM
1st: Centennial Tax & Accounting
2nd: Honkamp P.C.
3rd: Hoffman and Tranel
BEST MANUFACTURER
1st: Parr Instrument Company
2nd: John Deere
3rd: Bee Line
BEST LAW FIRM
1st: Shie Law Office, P.C.
2nd: Lane & Waterman
3rd: Newton Law
BEST ARCHITECTURAL FIRM
1st: Streamline Architects
2nd: Legat Architects
3rd: Shive-Hattery, Inc.
BEST ENGINEERING FIRM
1st: IMEG Corp.
2nd: Shive-Hattery, Inc.
3rd: Carr Engineering, LLC
BEST COMMERCIAL REALTY COMPANY
1st: Hawkeye Commercial Real Estate
2nd: NAI Ruhl
BEST RESIDENTIAL REALTY COMPANY
1st: Ruhl&Ruhl
2nd: 3% Listing Co.
3rd: Mel Foster Co.
BEST HOME BUILDER
1st: Aspen / Windmiller
2nd: Bagby Construction
3rd: Diamond Builders
BEST COMMERCIAL BUILDER
1st: Estes Construction / Russell Construction (tie)
2nd: Build To Suit / Bush Construction / Hodge Construction (tie)
3rd: Geifman Group
BEST OFFICE FURNISHINGS & DESIGN
1st: Pigott
2nd: Boyler’s Ornamental Iron
3rd: HNI / Paragon (tie)
BEST DEVELOPER
1st: Geifman Group
2nd: Russell Construction
3rd: Build To Suit
BEST BUSINESS LEADER
1st: David Gellerman
2nd: Paul Rouse
3rd: Melissa Church of Digi-Buzz
BEST BUSINESS INSURANCE BROKERAGE
1st: Nelson Brothers Agency
2nd: Jordan Sawyer State Farm
BEST TRUCKING COMPANY
1st: Ruan
2nd: Cantrell’s Towing
BEST BUSINESS CONSULTING
1st: Rouse Consulting Group
2nd: Honkamp P.C.
3rd: Twin State Technical Services
BEST LANDSCAPING & NURSERY
1st: Wallace’s Garden Center
2nd: Green Thumbers
3rd: Curb Appeal
BEST PR/MARKETING/CREATIVE AGENCY
1st: Digi-Buzz
2nd: MindFire Communications
3rd: Edwards Creative Services
BEST WEBSITE/APP DEVELOPER
1st: Twin State Technical Services
2nd: Digi-Buzz
3rd: TAG
BEST LOCAL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER
1st: Metronet
2nd: CS Technologies
3rd: Mediacom / Windstream (tie)
BEST IT SUPPORT COMPANY
1st: Rouse Consulting Group
2nd: Twin State Technical Services
3rd: Arena Consulting
BEST CYBERSECURITY COMPANY
1st: Rouse Consulting Group
2nd: Twin State Technical Services
3rd: Per Mar / RSM / SharedIT (tie)
BEST SIGN COMPANY
1st: One Step
2nd: Edwards Creative Services
3rd: Quad City Custom Signs
BEST PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER
1st: Weddings by Carue
2nd: Teila Marie Media Management
3rd: Todd Welvaert / AJV Original / Giraffe (tie)
BEST STAFFING/TEMP AGENCY
1st: Sedona Staffing
2nd: Midwest Employment
3rd: Express Employment
BEST GOLF COURSE
1st: Palmer Hills Golf Course
2nd: TPC Deere Run
3rd: Rustic Ridge
BEST CASINO
1st: Rhythm City
2nd: Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel
3rd: Isle Casino Hotel
BEST HOTEL
1st: Courtyard by Marriott
2nd: Blackhawk Hotel
3rd: Cambria Hotel
BEST PLACE TO BUY WINE & SPIRITS
1st: Willy’s Wine & Spirits
2nd: 129
3rd: Hy-Vee
BEST BREWERY
1st: Five Cities Brewing
2nd: Front Street Brewery
3rd: Bent River Brewing
BEST NEW RESTAURANT
1st: ETA Table + Tap
BEST PLACE FOR A BUSINESS LUNCH
1st: Monarch Kitchen & Bar
2nd: Me & Billy
3rd: The Filling Station
BEST BANQUET/EVENT FACILITY
1st: Courtyard by Marriott
2nd: Waterfront Convention Center
3rd: Stardust
BEST FINE ARTS VENUE
1st: Figge Art Museum
2nd: Circa 21
3rd: Adler Theatre
BEST JEWELRY STORE
1st: Necker’s Jewelers
2nd: Doland Jewelers
3rd: Kay’s
BEST CULTURAL ATTRACTION
1st: Honor Among Wrestling
2nd: Figge Art Museum
3rd: Putnam Museum
BEST AUTO DEALER
1st: NextGen Motors
2nd: Dahl Ford
3rd: Zimmerman Honda
BEST AUTO SERVICE DEALER
1st: NextGen Motors
2nd: Green Family Auto
3rd: Dahl Ford
BEST MBA PROGRAM
1st: St. Ambrose University
2nd: University of Iowa
BEST RECREATIONAL SPORTS FACILITY
1st: TBK Bank Sports Complex
2nd: YMCA
3rd: Tat2 Sports
BEST GYM
1st: YMCA
2nd: Quad City Performance
3rd: Aura Collective
BEST FITNESS STUDIO
1st: 8 ONE 8 Fitness
2nd: Aura Collective
3rd: HotWorx
BEST HOSPITAL
1st: UnityPoint — Trinity
2nd: MercyOne — Genesis
3rd: Hammond-Henry Hospital
BEST OPTOMETRIST/OPHTHALMOLOGIST
1st: Rock Island Optometric
2nd: Eye Surgeons Associates
3rd: Bettendorf Eyecare Center
BEST DENTISTRY/ORTHODONTICS
1st: Doyle Dentistry
2nd: Beattie Family Dental
3rd: Mack Orthodontics
BEST SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY
1st: Senior Star
2nd: Ridgecrest Village
3rd: Overlook Village / The Fountains / Friendship Manor (tie)
BEST PET CARE
1st: Posh Pets Resorts
2nd: Scott County Animal Hospital
3rd: New Horizon Kennel
BEST VETERINARIAN
1st: Scott County Animal Hospital
2nd: Whitehaven Veterinary
3rd: Maplewood Veterinary Center / Animal Family Veterinary Care Center (tie)
Best of the Region
