Top 100
Independents

While the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the restaurant world, especially for independents, 2019 was a good year for many, and still worth recognizing. Restaurants in the Top 100 grossed nearly $1.8 billion in a tight labor market amid increased competition, outearning the prior year’s total. But 2020 has presented even greater challenges, and RB takes a look at how indies are weathering those as well.

Meet the Leaders

Top 100 Independents: The Ranking

Click each concept to see more data.

Rank	Restaurant	Sales	Average Check	City	State	Meals Served
1	MILA	$51,115,747	$188	Miami	Fla.	271,461
2	The Boathouse - Orlando	$51,108,756	$51	Orlando	Fla.	985,695
3	Joe's Stone Crab	$47,688,425	$120	Miami Beach	Fla.	304,000
4	Old Ebbitt Grill	$46,922,989	$97	Washington	D.C.	619,137
5	Delilah Las Vegas	$40,000,000	$225	Las Vegas	Nev.	180,000
6	Taste of Texas	$34,021,980	$71	Houston	Texas	436,041
7	Gibsons Italia	$32,062,568	$114	Chicago	Ill.	302,059
8	Alexxa's at Paris Las Vegas	$31,256,992	$83	Las Vegas	Nev.	529,481
9	Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse - Chicago	$30,903,527	$104	Chicago	Ill.	329,447
10	The Hamilton	$30,197,384	$51	Washington	D.C.	586,470
11	Castaway Burbank	$29,523,000	$83	Burbank	Calif.	227,308
12	Papi Steak Las Vegas	$29,267,498	$267	Las Vegas	Nev.	116,458
13	Makoto	$28,701,628	$78	Bal Harbour	Fla.	311,173
14	Smith & Wollensky	$28,273,691	$121	New York	N.Y.	255,306
15	Le Diplomate	$27,049,163	$68	Washington	D.C.	405,529
16	St. Elmo Steak House	$26,504,333	$85	Indianapolis	Ind.	300,878
17	Pastis NY	$26,109,347	$79	New York	N.Y.	396,439
18	Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse - Oak Brook	$25,407,371	$100	Oak Brook	Ill.	283,266
19	Original Joe's Westlake	$24,622,987	$53	Daly City	Calif.	450,091
20	Parc	$24,314,690	$49	Philadelphia	Pa.	442,250
21	Rusty Pelican Miami	$24,105,000	$79	Miami	Fla.	194,896
22	Cafe Americano - Caesars Palace	$24,045,909	$35	Las Vegas	Nev.	686,740
23	Nick & Sam's Steakhouse	$23,536,354	$156	Dallas	Texas	150,121
24	Harris Ranch Resort	$23,459,100	$62	Coalinga	Calif.	635,196
25	Top of the World Steakhouse	$23,195,670	$137	Las Vegas	Nev.	169,477
26	Komodo Miami	$23,123,930	$120	Miami	Fla.	194,294
27	Casadonna	$23,056,814	$109	Miami	Fla.	149,279
28	Matt's El Rancho	$22,325,175	$31	Texas	Texas	720,167
29	MAYAMI	$22,251,032	$286	Miami	Fla.	75,356
30	Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse - Rosemont	$21,893,212	$103	Rosemont	Ill.	237,519
31	Komodo Las Vegas	$21,170,644	$163	Las Vegas	Nev.	142,829
32	Abe & Louie's Boston	$20,874,795	$111	Boston	Mass.	151,215
33	Bavarian Inn	$20,832,668	$23	Frankenmuth	Mich.	872,063
34	Barry's Downtown Prime	$20,500,000	$145	Las Vegas	Nev.	141,400
35	Quality Italian	$20,245,488	$101	New York	N.Y.	188,068
36	Bad Roman	$20,202,442	$91	New York	N.Y.	234,571
37	Cindy's Rooftop	$20,200,261	$79	Chicago	Ill.	248,010
38	Delilah Miami	$20,000,000	$160	Miami	Fla.	119,989
39	Zehnder's of Frankenmuth	$19,667,935	$20	Frankenmuth	Mich.	962,353
40	Buddakan NYC	$19,279,848	$104	New York City	N.Y.	184,866
41	Beer Park at Paris Las Vegas	$18,509,208	$45	Las Vegas	Nev.	398,759
42	Quality Meats	$18,423,771	$128	New York	N.Y.	149,636
43	Bob Chinns Crabhouse	$18,333,921	$67	Wheeling	Ill.	422,310
44	The Old Mill Restaurant	$18,321,606	$20	Pigeon Forge	Tenn.	885,640
45	Pastis MIA	$18,002,652	$75	Miami	Fla.	241,318
46	Zou Zou's	$17,828,354	$88	New York	N.Y.	146,062
47	Quality Bistro	$17,809,419	$106	New York	N.Y.	175,030
48	Cafe Americano - Paris Las Vegas	$17,802,164	$35	Las Vegas	Nev.	523,594
49	Orange Hill	$17,494,000	$75	Orange	Calif.	152,032
50	American Social Bar & Kitchen	$17,486,570	$52	Tampa	Fla.	335,442
51	Chayo Mexican Kitchen	$17,425,304	$40	Las Vegas	Nev.	412,731
52	Gekko Miami	$17,340,048	$128	Miami	Fla.	91,965
53	Original Joe's - San Francisco	$16,831,407	$52	San Francisco	Calif.	286,097
54	Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House	$16,780,358	$86	Chicago	Ill.	183,153
55	Haywire	$16,543,097	$48	Plano	Texas	341,852
56	The Choptank Annapolis	$16,537,914	$63	Annapolis	Md.	222,976
57	Quartino Ristorante	$16,369,681	$35	Chicago	Ill.	450,858
58	Cabo Wabo Cantina	$16,244,037	$46	Las Vegas	Nev.	375,510
59	China Live	$16,099,339	$54	San Francisco	Calif.	320,000
60	Swift & Sons	$15,807,168	$143	Chicago	Ill.	94,447
61	Cira	$15,786,141	$54	Chicago	Ill.	244,686
62	Harry & Izzy's Circle Centre	$15,441,107	$56	Indianapolis	Ind.	262,454
63	Tony's Pizza Napoletana	$15,433,129	$31	San Francisco	Calif.	290,871
64	Papi Steak Miami	$15,069,825	$201	Miami Beach	Fla.	67,937
65	The Ranch at Las Colinas	$14,520,244	$47	Irving	Texas	309,719
66	LUXBAR	$14,082,126	$43	Chicago	Ill.	289,352
67	Lombardi Cucina Italiano	$14,052,395	$91	Houston	Texas	160,741
68	Girl & the Goat	$14,042,077	$81	Chicago	Ill.	144,867
69	The Mexican	$14,034,996	$85	Dallas	Texas	156,907
70	Momotaro	$13,889,334	$80	Chicago	Ill.	144,317
71	Anthony's Runway 84	$13,827,928	$118	Fort Lauderdale	Fla.	117,185
72	The Fish Hopper	$13,803,406	$63	Monterey	Calif.	216,088
73	Electric Lemon	$13,773,969	$84	New York City	N.Y.	163,571
74	Tower Oaks Lodge	$13,367,659	$51	Rockville	Md.	270,889
75	Oxford Exchange	$13,301,610	$47	Tampa	Fla.	281,323
76	Clyde's of Gallery Place	$13,290,748	$46	Washington	D.C.	229,000
77	Mercato della Pescheria	$13,202,872	$57	Las Vegas	Nev.	242,155
78	Harpoon Hanna's Restaurant and Tiki Bar	$13,174,030	$34	Fenwick Island	Del.	394,096
79	Bistro 31	$12,911,662	$87	Highland Park	Texas	145,291
80	Alla Vita	$12,908,323	$62	Chicago	Ill.	176,251
81	15th Street Fisheries	$12,903,325	$51	Fort Lauderdale	Fla.	301,500
82	Whiskey Joe's Tampa	$12,874,000	$27	Tampa	Fla.	256,081
83	Bayshore Club	$12,741,777	$51	Miami	Fla.	249,318
84	The Spot	$12,700,000	$24	Galveston	Texas	529,000
85	Joe's on Newbury	$12,636,166	$40	Boston	Mass.	231,446
86	Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar	$12,193,341	$35	Charleston	S.C.	298,806
87	Blackbird Modern Asian	$12,098,863	$51	Jupiter	Fla.	385,000
88	Atlantic Fish Co.	$12,035,703	$74	Boston	Mass.	151,215
89	Delilah Los Angeles	$12,000,000	$131	Los Angeles	Calif.	92,124
90	AVA MediterrAegean	$11,918,927	$105	Winter Park	Fla.	113,937
91	Rick's Boatyard	$11,908,571	$96	Indianapolis	Ind.	255,276
92	Willow Creek Farm	$11,837,276	$58	Broadlands	Va.	228,750
93	Old Fisherman's Grotto	$11,708,780	$51	Monterey	Calif.	213,059
94	Lona Cocina & Tequileria	$11,674,598	$32	Fort Lauderdale	Fla.	361,219
95	Kyle G's Prime Seafood and Steaks	$11,588,060	$88	Jensen Beach	Fla.	163,959
96	Barclay Prime	$11,535,017	$209	Philadelphia	Pa.	65,596
97	Scoma's Restaurant	$11,461,220	$62	San Francisco	Calif.	183,890
98	Le Coucou	$11,159,541	$212	New York	N.Y.	55,749
99	Odyssey	$11,148,000	$61	Granada Hills	Calif.	77,801
100	Laser Wolf Brooklyn	$11,116,941	$83	Brooklyn	N.Y.	120,182

*RB estimate

Methodology

RB’s Top 100 Independents ranking is a measure of the highest-grossing independent restaurants. Only restaurant concepts with no more than five locations are considered “independents” for the purpose of this list (although it’s possible a restaurant that shares a name with a chain but is owned and operated separately would qualify, such as Smith & Wollensky in New York City). Rankings are based on gross 2019 food and beverage sales. Information was gathered through surveys. When data wasn’t provided, sales were estimated based on public information, similar concepts and other factors.

They’ve outlasted hurricanes, floods, forest fires, earthquakes, 9/11 and the Great Recession. But nothing prepared the country’s most successful independents for COVID-19. See how they’re handling a year from hell.

Top 100
Independents