CEO.CA Chairman's Briefing

CHICAGO, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Restaurant Business magazine has released its annual ranking of the Top 100 Independent Restaurants, an important benchmark for industry operators that highlights the highest-grossing non-chain restaurant concepts in the United States. This year's list includes eight newcomers and a number of different multiconcept operators (MCO) from across the country. The one thing they all have in common is the ability to be resilient and find a formula that works in today's difficult market.

"Just like the chains, independent restaurants faced major issues over the last year, making operating—and growing sales—increasingly difficult. In the face of the tough labor market, competition for real estate and a crowded market, these concepts still managed to survive and, in some cases, thrive, even as some other stalwarts were forced to close their doors," says Sara Rush Wirth, managing editor of Restaurant Business.

In particular, MCO groups such as Tao Group, Gibsons Restaurant Group and Tomkats—which all have a number of restaurants on the list—continue to perform well. Tao Group has seven restaurants ranked, including Tao Asian Bistro in Las Vegas, which tops the list for the fourth consecutive year with a total food and beverage revenue of $42,470,345. Its other restaurants to crack the Top 10 are Tao Downtown in New York City at No. 3, with $33,401,819 in total sales, and Lavo New York at No. 7, with $26,822,655 in total sales. Showing that even the biggest restaurants aren't immune to the industry's tough climate, all three report sales down from the previous year, with the Las Vegas spot down from nearly $48 million in 2015.

Overall, revenues for this year's Top 100 remained relatively flat from last year's list, totaling about $1.8 billion in 2016. But in an industry where chains are seeing sales decrease, some independent operators are seeing flat as a win. Food and beverage revenues ranged from Tao's $42.5 million to approximately $13 million for Cafe Fiorello in New York City.

Still, urban markets—often known for bringing in tourist dollars—are home to many of the restaurants in this year's ranking. New York City leads with 30 restaurants, and Las Vegas has 14 restaurants on the list.

The Top 10 Independents and their 2016 revenues are as follows:

The full Top 100 Independents feature is published in the October 2017 issue of Restaurant Business magazine. To view more restaurants on the ranking, visit http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/top-100-independents-2017

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Winsight LLC is a recognized leader in business-to-business media and information services for the convenience-retailing, foodservice and grocery industries. Winsight has an extensive media portfolio, including five publications: CSP, Convenience Store Products, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director and Winsight Grocery Business. Winsight also offers a suite of digital products, including websites, e-newsletters, webinars, video products, mobile and tablet apps, and custom marketing solutions. In addition to more than 12 major EduNetworking conferences and advisory meetings, Winsight also produces seven exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferences: Restaurant Leadership Conference, Global Restaurant Leadership Conference, Outlook Leadership Conference, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC, MenuDirections and Restaurant Directions. Winsight acquired Technomic Inc., the leading provider of market information and advisory services for the food industry. For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to www.winsightmedia.com or www.technomic.com.  

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