CountryMax is the kind of store that makes perfect sense in the Finger Lakes and almost no sense anywhere else. Part pet store, part farm supply, part garden center — it serves the specific needs of a region where a single customer might be buying chicken feed, a bag of premium dog food, and tomato stakes on the same trip. With multiple locations across the area, CountryMax has won Gold for Best Pet Store four consecutive years (2022 through 2025), Gold for Best Farm Equipment in 2024, Gold for Best Gardening Store/Nursery in 2022, and Silver for the same in 2024. That breadth of awards across multiple categories is not something a specialist can achieve. It takes a store that genuinely serves all of those communities well.

The pet department is the anchor — and clearly the strongest draw based on the unbroken Gold streak. The selection goes deep on quality food brands, supplements, and supplies for both common pets and the livestock-adjacent animals (chickens, goats, rabbits) that are common in rural Finger Lakes households. Staff tend to be knowledgeable in the specific, practical way that matters: they can tell you which feed works for laying hens versus meat birds, or which flea treatment actually works in this climate. The lawn and garden section stocks tools, seeds, soils, and seasonal plant materials that reflect what actually grows in Zone 6a, not what a national chain's buyer decided to ship from a warehouse in North Carolina.

CountryMax is not glamorous, and it is not trying to be. It is the store where you end up spending more time than you planned because you kept finding things you needed. In a region where the rural-suburban line barely exists, this is the retail model that makes the most sense — and the locals have been saying so with their votes for four straight years.