From beloved family-run restaurants and quaint Main Street bookstores to reliable neighborhood plumbers and trusted hair stylists, mom-and-pop shops are the heartbeat of our communities. To celebrate great locally owned businesses across the country, Yelp partnered with Entrepreneur Magazine to create our first-ever list of America’s favorite mom-and-pop shops. The list highlights 150 U.S. businesses across 10 different business categories that best represent what it means to be an independently owned and operated business in 2023. Born out of passion and entrepreneurial spirit, these businesses shape local communities by providing essential services, one-of-a-kind products and memorable experiences.
The list features a diverse array of businesses that put a twist on traditional offerings and excite their customers across categories, including arts & entertainment, beauty & spas, event planning, fitness & instruction, food, home & local services, travel, nightlife, restaurant and shopping. Earning a spot on the list in the ‘beauty & spas’ category, Denver-based The Beer Spa is a wellness concept that offers a spa experience while sipping, or even dipping in, locally sourced craft beer. Yelp user Breaunna O. hailed it as, “By far the best date night experience ever! It was so intimate, so relaxing, and all together the best 90 minutes we spent in Denver!”
Bringing eclectic style to the list in the travel category is The Roxbury, a stylish and welcoming bed and breakfast in Roxbury, NY, of which Yelp user Cindy C. said, “We feel like family, friends and also appreciated guests, each and every stay.” The unique experiences continue with Alpacas of Oregon, an alpaca farm in Sherwood, OR, that lets visitors feed and mingle with the fuzzy residents. Yelp user Mai G. hailed the business as an “epic experience for the family and kids,” while user Jonnie C. said business owner Doug “did an amazing job as a host and made our time there one to remember.”
The list also spotlights local eateries like Miami’s Pla-Tu Sushi Thai Tapas, which serves up traditional Japanese dishes and Thai specialities, plant-inspired spots like lil’ Vegerie in Redondo Beach, CA, and nightlife haunts, such as Las Vegas’s The Silver Stamp, which Yelp users laud as a comfortable local dive bar away from the Strip.
While consumers can find delight in every corner of the country, some states offer an especially wide variety of local businesses. Arizona and California had the strongest representation on the list, with at least one business in each of the 10 categories. Next is Florida and Nevada, with each home to nine businesses on the list. Las Vegas businesses earned seven spots on the list, the highest number compared to every other U.S. city. Chicago and Phoenix placed a close second and third, with six and five businesses respectively.
Yelp’s mission is to connect people with great local businesses. Celebrating the mom-and-pop shops that have the greatest impact on our communities is a key part of this mission. If you’re a business owner interested in learning more about how you can use Yelp’s free and paid tools, visit Yelp for Business.
Methodology
To create this list, we first identified independently-owned and operated businesses with a maximum of four locations in the event planning & services, shopping, nightlife, restaurants, food, arts & entertainment, fitness & instruction, beauty & spas, home and local services, and the hotels & travel categories. We then ranked the businesses within each category using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews. We only included one business per state per category for geographic diversity. All businesses were marked open on Yelp as of May 15, 2023. All restaurants on this list have a passing health score as of May 15, 2023.
