Profitable Eateries: 50 Highest Grossing Restaurants in the US

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Profitable Eateries: 50 Highest Grossing Restaurants in the US
By Colman Andrews, 24/7 Wall Street/ Money/ Restaurants/ USA Today/ usatoday.com

"The restaurant business is a tough one. The average lifespan of a restaurant is five years and by some estimates, up to 90 percent of new ones fail within the first year. There are, however, some very successful exceptions that manage to rake in millions of dollars a year.

24/7 Wall Street reviewed food service trade publication Restaurant Business’s latest annual ranking of the top 100 independent restaurants in America, which is based on their reported or estimated gross food and beverage sales for the year. They define independents, for the survey’s purposes, as restaurants with no more than five locations. Fewer than a dozen of the places on this list are single-operator restaurants.

The most recent Restaurant Business rankings, sponsored by Campbell’s, were published late last year, based on figures from 2016. The shuttering in late July of one of their top 50 establishments, Carnevino (No. 23), due to sexual misconduct allegations, inspired us to take a new look at the list. In the course of doing that, we discovered that two other restaurants in the top 50 have also closed since the list was published. There’s no indication that these two went out of business for financial reasons, but the fact that even restaurants that are phenomenally successful can close might serve as a reminder that sales and profits are not the same thing...."


Richard

 

[dioxide45]

Seems that most of them are in New York or Las Vegas.

 

[Talent312]

I'm sure these are fine places to dine; however...
I do not want to eat at places that are also good at making $$ at my expense.
.

 

[Luanne]

I'm sure these are fine places to dine; however...
I do not want to eat at places that are also good at making $$ at my expense.
.

I've actually eaten at two of both. Both were quite good. Carmine's in NYC and Gibson's in Rosemont, IL. And I will say neither one skimped on serving size.

 

[Passepartout]

Wait! None of 'em have arches out front. Aren't THEY profitable?

 

[pedro47]

Out of the Fifty restaurants listed. We have only eaten at one Carmine's (New York). The food and serve was Excellent IMHO.

 

[Talent312]

I will make an exception for Carmine's profiting from me
... having eaten there, myself.
.

 

[VacationForever]

We ate at Carmines in NYC 3 times when we were there a year ago. Food and service were good.

@Talent312 When you drill down the list, high grossing restaurants does not mean high price for meals. I would even consider some of them as very inexpensive.

 

[JIMinNC]

Interesting. Three for me:

#2 Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach
#17 Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Las Vegas
#22 Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC

 

["Roger"]

I've actually eaten at two of both. Both were quite good. Carmine's in NYC and Gibson's in Rosemont, IL. And I will say neither one skimped on serving size.

I've eaten at Gibson's (as well as Shaw's Crab House). Gibson's is good, but as Luanne indicated, they do not skimp on serving size. To be honest, the serving sizes are so big that it destroys my enjoyment of what otherwise would be a good meal. The last time I was there, the gentleman sitting at the table next to us offered to share his dessert. By the time he was done, six of us were sharing it.

Shaw's is good, but I would not list it as one of the best restaurants that I have eaten at.

 

[Luanne]

I've eaten at Gibson's (as well as Shaw's Crab House). Gibson's is good, but as Luanne indicated, they do not skimp on serving size. To be honest, the serving sizes are so big that it destroys my enjoyment of what otherwise would be a good meal. The last time I was there, the gentleman sitting at the table next to us offered to share his dessert. By the time he was done, six of us were sharing it.

Shaw's is good, but I would not list it as one of the best restaurants that I have eaten at.

I ate at Gibson's a couple of times on business trips. One night there were about 6 to 7 of us. I would always order the smallest steak possible. I swear one of their larger steaks could feed an army! The group of us ordered a piece of carrot cake for dessert. With that many of us, and a couple of them pretty big guys, we could not finish that cake.

 

[b2bailey]

Not a single one in San Francisco?

Profitable Eateries: 50 Highest Grossing Restaurants in the US
By Colman Andrews, 24/7 Wall Street/ Money/ Restaurants/ USA Today/ usatoday.com

"The restaurant business is a tough one. The average lifespan of a restaurant is five years and by some estimates, up to 90 percent of new ones fail within the first year. There are, however, some very successful exceptions that manage to rake in millions of dollars a year.

24/7 Wall Street reviewed food service trade publication Restaurant Business’s latest annual ranking of the top 100 independent restaurants in America, which is based on their reported or estimated gross food and beverage sales for the year. They define independents, for the survey’s purposes, as restaurants with no more than five locations. Fewer than a dozen of the places on this list are single-operator restaurants.

The most recent Restaurant Business rankings, sponsored by Campbell’s, were published late last year, based on figures from 2016. The shuttering in late July of one of their top 50 establishments, Carnevino (No. 23), due to sexual misconduct allegations, inspired us to take a new look at the list. In the course of doing that, we discovered that two other restaurants in the top 50 have also closed since the list was published. There’s no indication that these two went out of business for financial reasons, but the fact that even restaurants that are phenomenally successful can close might serve as a reminder that sales and profits are not the same thing...."


Richard

 

[Glynda]

Six for me!

Tavern on the Green
Angus Barn
Junior's (Times Square)
Smith & Wollenski
Carmine's (New York)
Joe's Stone Crab

 

[dioxide45]

Wait! None of 'em have arches out front. Aren't THEY profitable?

The arches place had more than the five location criteria that the article used to qualify restaurants for the list.

 

[Sapper]

Taste of Texas (#46) is outstanding. We are regulars here, and the place is family run.
Prime Steakhouse, Bellagio (#45) is an overpriced location with bad food and equal service. Go across the street to Mon Ami Gabi (#39) which was totally worth every penny.

 

[slip]

Taste of Texas (#46) is outstanding. We are regulars here, and the place is family run.
Prime Steakhouse, Bellagio (#45) is an overpriced location with bad food and equal service. Go across the street to Mon Ami Gabi (#39) which was totally worth every penny.

We agree on Taste of Texas but we had the opposite experience with Prime and Mon Ami Gabi. Awesome steak and service at Prime. Mon Ami Gabi was not memorable, average at best.

I’ve been to ten on the list.

 

[RNCollins]

I’ve been to two:

Tavern of the Green - NYC
Joe’s Stone Crab - Miami Beach

 

[Conan]

Junior's (Times Square or the original in Brooklyn) has absolutely the best cheesecake you'll ever eat.
Try the matzoh ball soup too!

 

[Passepartout]

Note that the article is about PROFITABILITY, not a collection of 'BEST EATERIES' around.

Jim

 

[Talent312]

Note that the article is about PROFITABILITY, not a collection of 'BEST EATERIES' around.

Indeed.
An eatery may be profitable for any number of reasons...
High prices, understaffing, poorly paid staff, popular location and low rent.
... none of which makes it good, although that certainly helps as well.

 

[buzglyd]

Indeed.
An eatery may be profitable for any number of reasons...
High prices, understaffing, poorly paid staff, popular location and low rent.
... none of which makes it good, although that certainly helps as well.

Actually the article is about gross sales which would favor high priced places. Gross sales and profit are two different things.

 

[dioxide45]

Actually the article is about gross sales which would favor high priced places. Gross sales and profit are two different things.

Thus why it seems Guy's American Kitchen & Bar is on the list but now closed. Made lots of money, but didn't seem to be profitable.

 

[Glynda]

Junior's (Times Square or the original in Brooklyn) has absolutely the best cheesecake you'll ever eat.
Try the matzoh ball soup too!

We were there pre-theater and it was a madhouse! Food wasn't good. Not much of a fan of cheesecake so couldn't say.

 

[Glynda]

Thus why it seems Guy's American Kitchen & Bar is on the list but now closed. Made lots of money, but didn't seem to be profitable.

Haven't been there but the Guy's Burger Bar on the pool deck of Carnival Magic was the best food on the whole ship.

 

[Luanne]

Junior's (Times Square or the original in Brooklyn) has absolutely the best cheesecake you'll ever eat.
Try the matzoh ball soup too!

I think we went there for breakfast. Kind of under whelmed. Thought it was expensive compared to similar eateries.