GOLD COAST — A new listing names Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse the top-grossing independent restaurant in the city, with annual sales of nearly $22.4 million. The average check per person: $71.
The listing, by Restaurant Business Magazine, pegs Gibsons, at 1028 N. Rush St., as the eighth highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.
The magazine estimates that some 341,345 meals were served last year.
The top-grossing restaurant in the country is Tao Asian Bistro in Las Vegas, with annual sales of $64.6 million.
The editors say that while many of the nation's top 100 are fine-dining concepts with high average checks, others are have more modest bills but with lots of customers. A successful restaurant of any type, they say, "always looks like passion, dedication and hard work."
Other Chicago restaurants on the list and their national ranking include:
• No. 10: Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab, 60 E. Grand Ave., with estimated annual sales of $21 million and average bill per person of $68.
• No. 18: Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling: $17.2 million; $31.
• No. 31: Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House, 1024 N. Rush St.: $15 million; $62.
• No. 42: Gibsons Bar and Steak House in Rosemont: $14.4 million; $68
• No. 47: Haray Caray's Italian Steakhouse, 33 W. Kinzie St.: $13.8 million; $45.
Gibsons in Oak Brook; Shaw's Crab House; Quartino Ristorante; and Greek Islands are also in the top 100 nationally.
Las Vegas restaurants held seven of the top 20 spots. The highest average check per person in the top 100 was $170 at Carnevino in Las Vegas.
Gibsons was started 25 years ago and has become what one reviewer described as a "bona fide celeb magnet" as well as a popular spot among the city's political and business elite. Its anniversary party this year included Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
In an interview with Michigan Avenue magazine, Steve Lombardo, who founded the restaurant in 1989 with business partner Hugo Ralli, said when Gibsons first opened, it struggled.
“We made no money during those years, but we could feel it was going to be successful — everyone seemed to like it," Lombardo said. "There was no other choice but to keep going.”
The pair also started Hugo's Frog Bar and Quartino.
Zagat reviewers call Gibsons "a first-class icon" and a "beef palace," saying the restaurant and its suburban sequels "tempt serious steak lovers with flavorful meat and all the trimmings, towering desserts, stiff drinks and a wide wine selection."
"Service makes you feel like a regular whether it's your first time or 55th, and the bustling crowd of heavy hitters is prime for people-watching," Zagat says.
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