The city has announced the winners of 2024’s Legacy Business Awards, a program for long-time small businesses that gives each winner professional assistance, a trophy and handshake from the mayor, and $30,000 in grant funding.

The office of economic opportunity and inclusion received over 1,560 nominations covering 267 candidates from across the entire city. A selection process by the City Council, Boston Main Streets and a committee of department representatives eventually settled on 30 winners.

Those names were first announced on May 29, but officially received their awards in a June 4 ceremony attended by Mayor Michelle Wu, city councilors and department heads.

“Every single person that calls Boston home, whether for residence or business, should have not just the opportunity but also the tools and resources to both survive and thrive,” said Segun Idowu, Boston’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion. “The legacy businesses here today inspire everyone to give back to the community as they have, in unsung moments that we are here to honor, support, remember and invest in.”

Toward that end each awardee will get a business health assessment, followed by up to ten hours of individualized coaching and technical assistance alongside a $30,000 grant to sustain and grow their business.

House of Culture in the South End was among the winners, a fashion shop started back in 1991 by Patrick Petty. Petty studied fashion design in London and got a job buying for a Boston clothing store, eventually opening his own on Newbury Street. Culture Shock was renamed House of Culture in 1998 and moved to its current home on Columbus Avenue in 2005.

Trident Booksellers and Cafe was there to represent the Back Bay, a business started in 1984 by Vermonters Bernie and Gail Flynn. The Newbury Street staple is rooted in self-described “hippie turned back-to-the-land, turned Buddhist, turned entrepreneur” values that preserved it through to the next generation of storerunners, their daughter Courtney and daughter-in-law Kim.

Mei Sum Bakery in Chinatown is another winner, though public information on the business’s history isn’t readily available. The Beach Street bakery offers not only a wide variety of pastries but also sandwiches and other lunch items for anyone hungry in Chinatown.

Cornwall’s in the Fenway is a tavern started in 1973 by John and Pam Beale. The two have kept the pub alive and well ever since on Beacon Street, onboarding their niece and nephews Elizabeth, JR and Billy.

Rounding out the list of winners from the city’s downtown neighborhoods is Charles Street Supply and Hardware on Beacon Hill. Salesman Dick Gurnon then got a job at the small store in 1948, becoming a partner in 1952.

Today the store has expanded and weathered everything from economic hardship to the arrival of the internet to burning to the ground, still standing strong and now managed by Dick’s son Jack.

He was surprised to hear about the business assistance that came with the award, and that was before the city announced it would include $30,000 in grant funding. Apparently, nobody at city hall had told them exactly what they would be getting.

“I have no clue [about those benefits,] I haven’t been contacted about that or anything. I was surprised to hear about all of this in general. I’d heard about it last year, I filled out a form when I was nominated and that’s as much as I know, other than to show up tomorrow.”

While there may be some small irony in supplying professional help only to small businesses that have already survived a decade or more without, Gurnon said he appreciated the nod regardless even before he found out it’s accompanied by a hefty chunk of funding.

“It’s hard being a small business, you never know what’s gonna help. You don’t know if advertising your shop helps, though word of mouth is always great. Is this award going to help the business? It can’t hurt. It’s nice to be recognized, and I’m looking forward to the ceremony,” he said.