All Special Reports

The top-performing independent restaurants specializing in Italian cuisine of 2017.

Over the years, the leading independents ranking has become more geographically diverse. Nevertheless, almost three in 10 Top 100 independents are located in New York City. Here are the highest-volume restaurants in the Big Apple.

Las Vegas is home to the top-grossing restaurant in the United States, Tao, along with 13 other high-volume players from the Top 100. The city hosts several celebrity chefs and leading multiconcept operators.

Five of the highest-grossing independent restaurants in the U.S. are in the nation’s capital, from one of America’s oldest places to talk politics to a newcomer owned by a consortium of family farms.

The 11 Top 100 restaurants in California are almost evenly split between San Francisco and Los Angeles/Orange County. Here are the top-grossing independents in the Golden State.

Ten restaurants among the Top 100 Independents call Florida home. Three are in Orlando’s Disney Springs, and the rest are clustered in and around Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Of the 12 restaurants among the Top 100 Independents that are located in Chicagoland, nine are in the city and three are in the suburbs. Two of those suburban restaurants—and three in the city—are operated by Gibsons Restaurant Group.

Operators share how they’re boosting sales and traffic.

Wages and workforce quality are the two most prevalent worries among the Top 100 operators. Here’s how they’re coping.