St. Elmo Makes Top 100 Highest Grossing Independents List
Restaurants and Institutions magazine just released their top 100 list, and while restaurants in the Top 10 are solidly in the $20-30 million range, check out our own St. Elmo Steakhouse at number 47 -- with a reported gross of $13,449,305. (Up from the $11.3 million reported in 2005 by the IBJ in their top grossing city restaurant rankings.) Some other stats on St. Elmo?
’07 sales: $13,449,305
Avg. dinner check: $74.08
Meals served: 181,550
Seats: 320 dining; 40 bar
Other notables on the top 100 list:
#6 -- DC's Old Ebbit Grill ($22,851,237 with an average dinner check of $24.00, and 800,000 meals served -- that's some turn! Also, 152 years old.)
#6 -- DC's Old Ebbit Grill ($22,851,237 with an average dinner check of $24.00, and 800,000 meals served -- that's some turn! Also, 152 years old.)
#7 -- Gibson's Bar Steakhouse in Chicago ($20,846,253, with an average check of $35.95) Gibson's in Rosemont makes #22 on the list. Hugo's Frog Bar and Fish House (Gibson's version of Harry and Izzy's for overflow) makes #31 on the list.
#45 -- The Grand Central Oyster Bar in all it's cheesy, 70s glory -- and still a great meal.
#62 -- Shaw's Crab House in Chicago clocks in at $12.5 million
#69 -- Harry Caray's Restaurant in Chicago at $12.2 million.
and both Montgomery Inn at the Boathouse and the Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati clock in at 81 and 100 respectively making them to top two grossing rib joints in the US.
If you're looking for quality over quantity, then check out San Pelligino's annual Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World list. El Bulli and Fat Duck top the list with the French Laundry and Per Se coming in at 5 and 6. Other US restaurants named to the top 50 list were Jean Georges at 17, Le Bernardin at 20, Chicago's Alinea at 21, Chez Panisse at 37, Charlie Trotter's at 38, and Daniel at 41. A few US restaurants also made teh bottom 50 -- still good -- including Nobu New York (ranked 52), Masa (ranked 54), WD-50 (ranked 63), and the US L'Atelier Joel Robuchon (ranked 85). (The US-MGM Robuchon outpost also makes the top 10 but is listed differently, as if MGM is its own country. Full list is here. Makes for great travel planning! (all via Gut Check)
7 comments:
Interesting list (top grossing)... I read through it and I'm surprised how many I've been to. I guess I get around ;)
As for Montgomery Inn... I guess you don't have to serve good food to make money, huh? That is, unless you consider ribs reheated in a microwave good BBQ.
As for the "best" list... I've been to all of them in the US and a few outside the US. I'd agree with most of them being there, just maybe not their position in the list. I doubt there are only 20 restaurants in the world that are better than Alinea. It was good, but I didn't think it was that good. To each his own I guess.
The other interesting thing is the "world's best" list has nothing in the top 50 outside the western hemisphere and Australia. Seems a little biased to me. I've been to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore and I ate in some world-class restaurants in all places, especially in Japan.
There are two South African restaurants listed, and the Best Asian is in India. And one from Hong Kong (88 -- Pierre Gagnaire), but strangely, none from Tokyo which seems odd with almost all the American French chefs having outposts there now.
Actually, 3 Hong Kong restaurants made the top 100 list.
Oops! I missed the South African place at #50.
My comment only addressed the top 50 (I didn't even look at 51 - 100). I think my point is valid though... The top 50 are almost exclusively western Europe and the US. While I agree that's probably where cooking is at its best I'm sure we haven't cornered the market, especially given your point about western chefs setting up shop in Tokyo.
Looks like the joke is on 181,550 people...
St. Elmos is pretty good but I might have to agree with Anonymous. At the posted average check you can eat at Gibson's in Chicago for half the price.
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