GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM)-- A ceremony taking place at Wealthy Theatre Thursday night is much like the Academy Awards, but instead of honoring celebrities, the event recognizes notable places.

For 20 years, the city has celebrated local businesses with the Neighborhood Business Awards. Organizers say Thursday's event is a chance to show the Grand Rapids community all the good in their own backyards.

This year, there are more than 100 nominees in 14 different categories.

Mark Lewis from Neighborhood Ventures says, "We're celebrating the great things that are happening in the neighborhood districts of Grand Rapids."

In the Wealthy Street neighborhood, Brick Road Pizza is among the finalist in a new category, Best Neighborhood Restaurant. It is competing with a dozen others.

Lewis says, "[The] economy is really tough right now. We do understand that but you know it was a real eye-opener for me just to go around and see 'Oh, look another business has popped up!' Or see the investment they made into their building considering everything else that's going on. You see a lot of that throughout the city."

The Meanwhile Bar is up against four other businesses for Best Promotion. It created a Meanwhile Movie series at Wealthy Street Theatre. Down the road, The Winchester is up against Corez Wine Bar and Eastern Floral and Gifts for Best Reuse of a Building. And Bear Manor Properties was nominated for Best New Construction for a Small Project for the Electric Cheetah restaurant. It'll go up against three other small projects in the Easttown and Michigan neighborhoods.

Lewis says it's stiff competition that's leaving many in awe.

"We take one day and we look at all the businesses. Yeah, you see a lot going on on Wealthy Street, but when we actually got to the other side of the river on the Westside, I was actually surprised how much is actually going on in the Seward, Bridge Street area, all these other business districts as well. You see the excitement building."

Event organizers say in the end, everyone wins because growth is happening in Grand Rapids.

The free event starts at 5 p.m. Thursday night at Wealthy Theatre. A reception called "Taste of our Neighborhood" will feature samples from some neighborhood restaurants. The awards ceremony will follow at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Mayor George Heartwell.

The Neighborhood Business Awards is a joint event of the Neighborhood Business Alliance and Neighborhood Ventures.