Chick-fil-A Still Bentonvilles Top Restaurant in Revenue

Sales at the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 209 S. Walton Boulevard topped all other Bentonville restaurants in 2013.

That’s according to the 1 percent restaurant tax collected by the Bentonville Advertising & Promotion Commission. The tax is collected on prepared foods and non-alcoholic beverages.

The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal uses the commission’s data to calculate revenue for restaurants in Bentonville.

Georgia-based Chick-fil-A had sales of $3.33 million at its only Bentonville location, up nearly eight percent from 2012, and more than $800,000 more than second-place Panera Bread Co. had in 2013.

Chick-fil-A’s first full year in business in Bentonville was in 2009, and it’s topped the list of the city’s top-performing restaurants each year since.

Eleven, the upscale restaurant inside Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, ranked third on the list with $2.25 million, followed by the McDonald’s on South Walton Boulevard ($2.24 million) and Zaxby’s ($2.09 million).

The 2013 revenue total of $6.49 million by Eurest Dining Services, the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. home office cafeteria, is intentionally excluded from the ranking. Also excluded are Sam’s Club and Walmart Supercenter Deli.

The second five on the list begins with the McDonald’s at 1401 Phyllis St. with $2.04 million, followed by Sushi House ($1.98 million), Buffalo Wild Wings ($1.95 million) and Shogun Steakhouse of Japan ($1.94).

A newcomer to the list, not surprisingly, is The Hive, the restaurant inside the 21c Museum Hotel on the downtown square.

Despite opening in February, the restaurant still had sales of $1.81 million.

The Hive’s debut on the list bumped out two other downtown destinations from the top 10 — The Flying Fish and Table Mesa Bistro — each with $1.79 million in sales in 2013.