Newark celebrated its local businesses during an inaugural gala Thursday night hosted by the city's development agency.

The event, billed as "A Night of Newark," honored partners in the city and featured more than 100 vendors. It was hosted by the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, an independent corporation largely funded by the city to help spur development in Newark.

Among those honored:

Kings Restaurant -- small business of the year

Forward Ever Sustainable Business Alliance - nonprofit partner of the year

Newark Alliance -- corporate liaison of the year

Pennoni Engineering -- professional consultant of the year

RWJ Barnabas Health -- community anchor of the year

RBH Group -- developer of the year

MCJ Amelior Foundation -- philanthropic leader of the year

Rutgers University -- educational institution of the year

Gerard Adams/Fownders -- entrepreneur of the year

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.