PORTLAND, Maine - Influential food magazine Bon Appetit calls Portland the 2018 Restaurant City of the Year – beating out larger cities like New York or Los Angeles.
Chad Conley owns Rose Foods - one of several restaurants named as a reason Portland’s food culture beats out other cities.
Conley says he expects the article to have some effect on the business, but not on his management style.
"My approach is to sort of keep my head down and keep doing what I'm doing, and acknowledge that's a part of - that's one way of stepping back and being acknowledged for it," he says. "And it's good for business for sure."
Bon Appetit author Andrew Knowlton acknowledges he chose the city because of the sheer number of new openings in recent years and the growing attention within the city to its numerous culinary offerings.
Other recent City of the Year winners have included much larger metropolises like Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Portland is the smallest city to get the honor. It's a city of about 67,000 with a restaurant scene that draws legions of tourists.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.