To qualify for a prestigious PIBA award (pronounced PIB-AH), a business must be locally owned and independent, as defined below by the Portland Buy Local Campaign.

“Locally owned” means the business is privately held and the owner or the majority of the owners are Maine residents and live within 50 miles of Portland at least half of the year. This includes employee- and cooperatively owned businesses, as well as nonprofits, but not government units. The business must be registered in Maine with no corporate headquarters outside of the state.

“Independent” means the owner or owners have full decision-making authority over the business, and the business has no more than 10 outlets, with the majority located in Maine.