On Yelp, independent restaurants are outpacing chains. Just not in Cincinnati.

Mallorie Sullivan | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Yelp releases its top 100 places to eat for 2017 Yelp released its top 100 places to eat for 2017. Buzz60's Nick Cardona gives us a taste of the list.

Since the beginning of the year, Cincinnati has found itself atop several lists for those looking to travel somewhere on the cheap to those seeking a fresh start in a new city.

Some lists, like those from the New York Times, sing the praises of the Queen City's music and arts scene. Others found pleasure in its numerous parks and museums.

Aside from their own unique draws to the city, each publication's list also had one thing in common: the city's restaurant scene.

And who could blame them? After all, Cincinnati boasts several award-winning restaurants such as Downtown's Orchids at Palm Court and Boca, as well as a growing number of trendy, new places such as Over-the-Rhine's Please and City Bird Tenders.

More: Please named Best Cincinnati Restaurant of 2017

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But while it seems as if haunts like those above are opening around the city every other day, Cincinnati is far behind the 50 largest United States metro areas when it comes to independent restaurants, according to Yelp's local economic outlook report.

According to the company's report, fast-food chain restaurants, like McDonald's, have lost about 16 percent of their average rating overall in the past five years, or about one-third of a star on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Fast-casual chain restaurants, like Chipotle, have lost about one-tenth of a rating point over the same period.

Ratings for independent fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, on the other hand, have shown a tremendous increase — in this case, 7 percent — in the same time frame. Ratings for casual-dining chain restaurants, like Olive Garden, have remained unchanged, though Yelp says they lagged behind their independent competitors.

The report found the trend most prominent in New York City, where only about 13 percent of casual dining restaurants are chains, 20 percent of fast-casual restaurants are chains and about 35 percent of fast-food restaurants are chains.

Compare that to Cincinnati, which boasts the largest share of restaurants that are owned by franchises with more than five locations, landing it at the bottom of the list. According to the report, that's nearly 35 percent of its casual dining restaurants, 47 percent of fast-casual restaurants and 77 percent of fast-food restaurants.

But that's not to say Cincinnati wants a McDonald's on every corner. According to the same report, independent restaurants in the Queen City have extended their lead over chain competitors in consumer sentiment.

And it shows: In Cincinnati, the average rating of a fast-casual chain restaurant is 3.2 stars out of 5, while an independent restaurant of the same nature scored 4.2. Fast-food chains scored even lower, with 2.9 stars versus independent fast-food chains' 4.2.

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While that has to do partly with the growing overall presence of independent restaurants in Cincinnati and across the country, it also has to do with residents' embrace of locally owned businesses and locally sourced products.

According to Dave Henkes, senior principal at food industry research firm Technomic, consumers prefer smaller restaurants because they're "more authentic, offer better and more unique menu items ... and provide better value than their chain counterparts."

In addition to the restaurant ratings, Yelp also ranked the top 50 metro areas in the country by their business openings and closings in the last quarter — a place where Cincinnati fared marginally better.

According to Yelp's rankings, Charleston, South Carolina; Phoenix; Salt Lake City, Utah; Orlando; and Honolulu rounded out the top 5 cities. The fastest-growing categories were fitness and health businesses and event services, with restaurants being one of the slowest-growing categories in all cities.

That rang true for Cincinnati, which ranked No. 37 in terms of growth. Fitness, food and health businesses rounded out its top three fastest-growing business categories, while restaurants sat at No. 10.