The Top 100 restaurants encompass experiences as diverse as (clockwise from top left) America in Las Vegas; Tower Oaks Lodge, Rockville, Md.; Maloney & Porcelli in New York City; Harris Ranch Restaurant, Coalinga, Calif.; St. Elmo Steak House, Indianpolis; and Boulevard, San Francisco.

The restaurant industry has grown accustomed in recent years to seeking indicators, however small, of economic improvement, beacons that signal sales-building momentum has been regained. Restaurants & Institutions’ 21st annual ranking of the 100 highest-grossing independent (nonchain) restaurant locations provides one such note of encouragement.

The 100 restaurants that make up this year’s list posted aggregate sales in calendar 2003 of $1.187 billion, an impressive sum that translates to an average of nearly $12 million in food-and-beverage revenues. That’s 4% ahead of last year and better than 2 1/2 times the $4.4 million average when R&I compiled the first Top 100 list in 1983.

Even more significant is that this year’s total exceeds the $1.16 billion in sales amassed by the 100 largest restaurants in 2000. The following year—more specifically on Sept. 11, 2001—the United States suffered blows from which the nation and the hospitality industry in particular have been slow to recover. What the numbers on the following pages really represent—to all of foodservice—is the drive and dedication that has been required to again move the industry forward.

R&I Top 100 Independent Restaurants

The View From the Top

Beyond Expectiations