Chicago’s Top Independent Restaurants: It’s the Apostrophe, Stupid

Restaurants & Institutions has announced the winners in their annual Top 100 Independent Restaurants roundup. Don’t look for locally-sourced produce and charismatic backyard chefs here — to R&I;, the deciding factor is the bottom line. They rank the top dollar by the dollar, listing the hundred highest-grossing non-chain restaurants in the country.

Chicago makes a good showing: Gibson’s Steakhouse comes in at #8 overall, grossing $20,753,314 in 2008; Joe’s Stone Crab is #9 with $20.5m; Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House is #36 with $14.6m; Shaw’s Crab House is #56 with $12.8m; Harry Caray’s is #67 with $12.1m; and Mike Ditka’s Restaurant just barely squeaks onto the list at #94, with $11.1m in sales. Harry Caray’s also turned out to be ranked #8 overall in terms of plates served — last year they served up a whopping 480,000 customers.

What we’re most intrigued by here is the naming convention. This can’t be coincidence: Gibson’s, Joe’s, Hugo’s, Shaw’s, Harry’s, Ditka’s — is the key to success just a name with a possessive added? Someone go find out about this for us and report back.

R&I;’s Top 100 Independent Restaurants [R&I;]
[Photo: davidpaulohmer/Flickr]

Chicago’s Top Independent Restaurants: It’s the Apostrophe, Stupid