Announcing 2017 Good Food 100 Restaurants™
Drumroll, Please!
After many months in the making, I am extremely proud to announce the list of 2017 Good Food 100 Restaurants. In total, we had 88 participants, with 25 states and all eight regions of the United States (as defined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis) represented. Fine dining restaurants made up 50 percent of the entrants, while casual eateries (31 percent), fast casual spots (12 percent), food service (5 percent), and catering (2 percent) rounded out the data.
View List of 2017 Good Food 100 Restaurants
As this is the very first list of Good Food 100 Restaurants, we expect it to expand exponentially over the coming years. More than ever, eaters care about where their food comes from, and we are confident that this interest is only going to grow.
The Good Food 100 Restaurants is designed to offer the conscious consumer an easy way to vet restaurants and food service companies before spending their dining dollars. As an extension of taking the survey, the participating chefs, owners, and business managers gain unprecedented insight into their businesses. “We all talk about farm-to-table and transparency and buying local, but this process allows you to see if you really are walking the talk,” says Paul Reilly, chef and co-owner of Beast & Bottle and Coperta in Denver, Colorado. “It was a good exercise for me to see where we can do better (and what we're doing well). I also found it satisfying to know exactly how Beast + Bottle's and Coperta's dollars are being spent, and examine the possibility of using them more wisely.”
List analysis
Of the 88 restaurants and food service operators who took the survey, 51 achieved the maximum number of links (links are akin to stars in a typical rating system). The ratings correlate topercent of total food costs spent to support state, regional and national ‘good food’ producers and purveyors versus other restaurants in the same category and region. The links correspond to the critical points of the food chain: environment, plants and animals, producers, purveyors, restaurants, and eaters. Nineteen businesses received five links, 8 earned four links, 6 nabbed three links, and 2 were awarded two links. All businesses who participated in the 2017 survey earned one link for simply completing the lengthy survey.
Methodology
All U.S. restaurants and food service operations—quick service, fast casual, casual dining, fine dining, meal delivery, catering, and food service—were eligible to take part in the survey. The list is based on annual, self-reported food purchasing data, independently verified by NSF Responsible Sourcing, and then analyzed by the Business Research Division at Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado.
View List of 2017 Good Food 100 Restaurants
The 2017 Good Food 100 Restaurants economic assessment will be published in July. The 2018 survey will be available on January 1, 2018. All U.S. restaurants and food service operation are eligible to participate.