R&I Names Highest-Grossing Restaurants In America

Restaurants & Institutions released their list of Top 100 Independent Restaurants of 2010 and New York City made a proud showing. Five of the top ten grossing restaurants were based in the Big Apple, with the now defunct Tavern on the Green coming in at #2.

Tao made the list twice, with the Las Vegas branch taking top honors and the New York City branch making it to #8.

The Las Vegas Tao Restaurant & Nightclub, a popular celebrity destination, made almost double the next highest earner at $59,292,345.

Other notables include Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach and DC's Old Ebbitt Grill.

Check out which other restaurants topped the list:

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1. Tao Las Vegas Restaurant & Bistro

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3377 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 2009 Sales: $59,292,345

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3377 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV
2009 Sales: $59,292,345

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Comments

[LastAngryWoman]

07:09 AM on 04/02/2010

I have a fairy tale memory of attending my aunt's wedding reception at Tavern on the Green in the late sixties.

After all this time, I still think of it as the best 'dining experience' I've ever had. Magical.

[KillaKate]

03:12 AM on 04/02/2010

Give me a slice of Jersey pizza for 1.50 and I couldn't be happier!

[DSOTM]

10:10 AM on 04/02/2010

I couldn't have said it better, except I am from NY.

[kdizza]

10:13 AM on 04/05/2010

I'll take a slice from Ray's (Prince St), Ben's, or Grimaldi's any day. The thing about Jersey pizza is that you actually have to go to Jersey to eat it. No disrespect to the pizza....

[BambooHarvester]

12:56 AM on 04/02/2010

Just stopped in on my way too Micky D's.

[starrianna]

11:05 PM on 04/01/2010

This article is going to make all kinds of stupid people want to open fancy restaurants now.

Whatever! You can also lose MILLIONS in the business if your goal is to rip people off.

There was one restaurant in La Jolla that charged people $100-200 for a dinner that usually sucked, and they lost millions and closed down while their employees robbed them blind.

[Midnightbreeze]

12:39 AM on 04/02/2010

Ahh, La Jolla. I can think of two places that stood the test of time; Georges at the Cove and the Marine Room. Sadly I haven't eaten at either. I left Del Mar and Cal for good when I was about 22.

[sonoffestus]

09:44 PM on 04/01/2010

Tabour Franche VFW Hall in Cranston RI, (if it is not under water),has some of the best Italian food you can find anywhere. Sometimes called Mike's Kitchen its a RI Classic. The calamari and marinated smelts are to die for and this time of year ( Easter) they do a wonderful goat in brown sauce served over pasta................ and almost everyone can afford to feed a family there.

[textynn]

07:22 PM on 04/01/2010

I just saw Tavern on the Green went bankrupt and they were selling their stuff at auction. They showed a bunch of the stuff for action on tv. Something funny here.

[Midnightbreeze]

12:45 AM on 04/02/2010

Really, how do you rake in 27 million a year and go out of business? Maybe they should take lessons from the guys who keep those 24 hr taqueria's open here in the southwest.

I've never been a fan of restaurateur's. Where I come from a lot of them were coke addicts and just plain jerks.

[JamesSin]

11:22 AM on 04/12/2010

Maybe they shouldn't have accepted Lehman Brothers corporate cards.

[Ergon]

06:40 PM on 04/01/2010

I'd never eat in one of those places, even if I could afford them.
But, the places one stumbles on, passin' through, the best food ever for me:
- A Mexican restaurant in Southern Illinois
- Crab place just off Chesapeake Bay
- Oyster bar on the way to South Padre Island
- Smoke shack on the way from Houston to Dallas
- Japanese restaurant on a hilltop outside of New York City
- Seafood restaurant on Highway One
- Coffee and croissants in an early morning market, Paris
- A patisserie in Pecs, Hungary
- Wild Salmon in Scotland
- Scones and English Tea in Devon
- Charcoal grilled fish on the beach in Goa
- Sake bar in Tokyo with assorted munchies

May your journey bring such wonderful food to your table~bon appetit!

[AmandaBC]

06:56 PM on 04/01/2010

- Nanaimo bars, anywhere in my home town... :)

[Ergon]

07:13 PM on 04/01/2010

My mom's cooking :)

[jemiltd]

08:57 PM on 04/01/2010

Alabama's -- a take out only fish place in the worst part of Cincinnati.

And my Mom's cooking of course.

[barts]

09:38 AM on 04/02/2010

My my, have we been around!

[Ergon]

10:32 AM on 04/02/2010

Grew up all over, got to love travel, passed that love on to my children. As I said in the 10 most expensive cities poll, You can travel cheaply, as long as you live like the locals, and don't expect the touristy things.
And when you travel, you get to meet and get along with everyone.

[Senseid]

05:56 PM on 04/01/2010

The irony of Tao is that it is the complete opposite of anything and everything Buddhism teaches.

[immortalmikey]

06:03 PM on 04/01/2010

I was thinking the same thing

[yappnmutt]

06:34 PM on 04/01/2010

its kinda like a koan. it could be buddha humor.

[Nagarjuna]

05:53 PM on 04/01/2010

These joints are not about food, they're about profiling and about a "scene." What a bore. Look for the places where people care about good food and forget places like this.

[myjs]

05:31 PM on 04/01/2010

Wasn't there a mob hit at Sparks Steak House in the 80's?

[JamesSin]

11:20 AM on 04/12/2010

Did someone hide a gun in the Bathroom?

[SantaFeStars]

03:53 PM on 04/01/2010

Give me the Apple Pan in West Los Angeles, any day!!!!!!!!!!

[moving violation]

03:43 PM on 04/01/2010

obviously, highest grossing and good are mutually exclusive-- tavern on the green

one of the worst meals i'v ever had

[JScott]

05:38 PM on 04/01/2010

I thought it was in bankruptcy?

[FrTown]

03:29 PM on 04/01/2010

McDonald's
Over 100 Billion served

[AmandaBC]

06:51 PM on 04/01/2010

Fertilizer sells even better around the world, and it's basically the same product...

[sonoffestus]

09:46 PM on 04/01/2010

LOL...good one! Did you catch Jamie Oliver's food Revolution? Scary, huh?

[O K Ali]

03:28 PM on 04/01/2010

Tavern has been closed for some time now, how did it make the list?

[WiltonDiary]

04:19 PM on 04/01/2010

Because it grossed 29,000,000 in 2009. The 22010 figures won't be released until 2011.

[sonoffestus]

09:49 PM on 04/01/2010

Grossed 29 Million and went belly up. Probably could have used some cost management policies, yah think?

[nature boy]

02:51 PM on 04/01/2010

How many of these restaurants are supported by dollars from tax payers who are funding the losers on Wall Street.

[muscleboundH]

03:30 PM on 04/01/2010

Come now. As you can see many of them are crab "shacks" and many of them are in vegas. People will save to have one good meal on their vegas vacations, no matter what income bracket they fall in to.

Just because some business make a profit does not mean they are bad. That's like someone saying you must be supported by tax payers money because you don't take the bus...or since you don't live under a bridge you must be supported by taxpayers...or because you spent $60 on tennis shoes you must be ripping someone off.

your logic=FAILS

[imsscott]

10:05 AM on 04/02/2010

How many? Try none.

[ElleNY]

02:29 AM on 04/05/2010

None? Are you kidding? Smith & Wollensky and Spark's clientele are largely bankster/finance guys with corporate cards...black cards, if they're special. I'm sure Tao/Buddakan, when they first came out and were "all the rage", were also frequented by this crowd...Corp crowd goes out to eat in city for business frequently, especially the two aforementioned steakhouses.