The Highest-Rated Family-Owned Small Businesses on Yelp

Some 27.3% of U.S. businesses are majority-owned by at least two family members. Nearly all are small businesses, and 95.6% have fewer than 50 employees. And as we discovered in our research into the states with the most family-owned firms, family businesses employ between 27% and 47% of the workforce in each state.

Not only do family businesses create jobs, they also have a “significant influence” on society through economic growth and philanthropy, according to McKinsey, and through their roles in community building and their commitment to local values and needs.

But which small family businesses best satisfy their customers and communities? Business lender OnDeck analyzed customer ratings on Yelp to find out.

What we did

We used Yelp to search for the 100 highest-rated “family-owned” businesses in each of the 100 major U.S. cities and manually verified that each selected business was family-owned. Then, we identified the highest-rated family-owned businesses by state, city and industry, ranking each one with a precise two-decimal Yelp rating out of 5. In case of a tie, we ranked the business with the most reviews higher. We also spoke with the owners of some of the top-rated businesses to learn more about their journeys, the challenges they face and their advice for aspiring small business owners.

Key Findings: The highest-rated family-owned small businesses on Yelp

• The highest-rated family-owned small business on Yelp is A&R Concrete & Hardscape in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with a perfect 5.00 rating from 137 Yelp reviews.
• East Arrowhead Flowers in Chandler, Arizona, has a perfect 5.00 from 111 Yelp reviews, making it the second top-rated family business and the number one in Arizona.
• The highest-rated small family business in New York City is Lexington Painting in Midtown Manhattan, with an average Yelp rating of 4.98.
• Adulis Bar & Restaurant in Gulfton, Texas, is the highest-rated small family restaurant business, with a perfect 5.00 from 24 reviews — just one more review than second-placed Petite Bretagne of Mamaroneck on Yelp.

The perfect five-star small family businesses, ranked.

The top ten small family businesses in our study all have perfect 5.0 ratings, so we ranked them by the number of 5.0 ratings they’ve received on Yelp. The top small family business is A&R Concrete & Hardscape in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with an average rating of 5.00 based on 137 Yelp reviews. Owner Richard Harvey learned the trade working alongside his father, with whom he runs the business today.

“Richard and his team were beyond professional and friendly,” says one reviewer. “[A] true family business that operates with integrity, transparency and care.”

Also in the top 10 with a perfect 5.0 is Henderson, Nevada’s 1st Choice Air Duct Care, which offers its services to Las Vegas and surrounding areas.

“Being a family-owned business means every customer matters personally to us,” owner Melissa Vallejo told OnDeck. “Positive Yelp reviews are incredibly meaningful to us because they reflect the trust we’ve earned and the relationships we’ve built.”

Auto repair and coffee shops among highest-rated family businesses in each state.

Our analysis showed that auto repair and coffee shops are most likely to be top-rated, with businesses in these categories accounting for the top family businesses in five states each.

Top auto businesses include Rushing Automotive, the highest-rated small family business in South Carolina. It has an average rating of 5.00 from 47 reviews on Yelp. The business is celebrated for its employees’ transparency and helpfulness, having served the Columbia area for over 20 years. “Great communication, trustworthy recommendations, and more than fair prices/labor rates,” writes one reviewer.

Michigan’s highest-rated is Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters, with a perfect score of 5.00. The store sells coffee beans rather than serving coffee in a cafe or takeout context and was established by Craig A. Patterson, who claims to have been drinking coffee since he was five.

Patterson’s key community- and loyalty-building strategy is the popular Saturday Experience the shop has hosted since 2008: “an open-house style event designed to welcome guests into a friendly & relaxing setting where you can taste, discuss, and learn about what we believe is the world’s most fascinating beverage.”

Manhattan painting and decorating company is New York’s top family-owned small business.

Narrowing our search to 15 major cities, we found that most had at least one small family business with a Yelp rating of 4.90 or higher.

In New York City, Manhattan-based Lexington Painting boasts a 4.98 score from 53 Yelp reviews. Lexington is a “third-generation painting company with over 50 years of hands-on experience,” according to owner Spiro Markozanis. “I started in the trade at a young age working alongside my father, and have spent decades working in Manhattan apartments, designer showrooms, and high-end interiors.”

San Francisco’s highest-rated small family business is Diverse Inspection Services, Inc., with a rating of 4.90 on Yelp. Serving the San Francisco, the Peninsula and East Bay areas, Diverse is run by brothers Marco and Devan Donaldson.

“Marco and Devan are the real deal,” writes one happy customer. “[S]killed, dedicated professionals who managed the relationship with us as new clients with great care, answering all our questions and performing the pest treatments we needed (there were several!) in a timely, effective manner.”

Yelp’s highest-rated family-owned eateries include Eritrean and “Reindeer Sausage Hotdog” stand.

The data shows that small family restaurant businesses, featuring flavors from Ethiopian to Mexican, French and Nepalese, make up those with the highest Yelp scores.

There are four with a perfect 5.0 Yelp rating, of which Adulis Bar & Restaurant in Gulfton, Texas, has the most reviews. The restaurant’s husband-and-wife team serves up Eritrean food that is both delicious and plentiful, according to reviewers.

OnDeck spoke to the owners of the seventh-highest-rated eatery, Red Umbrella Reindeer, a 4.96-rated hot dog stand in Anchorage, Alaska.

“Our business has been family-owned and operated for over 20 years. I personally have been running it for the last 12 years, continuing the tradition that was passed down to me,” Andres Guarderas told us.

“Being a family-owned business means everything to me. I started working alongside my dad, learning the business from the ground up. Over the years, I’ve also taught my kids how to run the stand, with the hope that one day they’ll take over and continue the family tradition.”

The highest-rated U.S. family businesses by industry, from bookstore to vegan store.

Finally, we collected data on 15 categories of small family businesses to see which is the highest-rated in each sector, according to average Yelp ratings. You can sort and search the data in the table below to compare the results.

We found that the top-rated family-owned bookstore on Yelp is Hangar 209 in Roswell, New Mexico, with a perfect average customer rating of 5.00, the highest rating in the country.

Rick and Ellen Robey founded the business by making and selling jerky in 2004. But they have since brought their daughter into the business, which now sells — alongside Abduction Jerky — “alien apparel, kids items, out-of-this-world coffee, eclectic gifts, but most importantly, a collection of books on conspiracies and ancient alien secrets.”

The top-rated family-owned vegan store is Healthy Harvest Urban Farms in Rock Island, Iowa, with a rating of 4.91 on Yelp. The store grew out of father-and-son team Chad and Nieko Summers’ organic community garden and garden center in East Moline.

“[T]he cashier was one of the owners,” reports one reviewer. “He was very friendly, very knowledgeable and loved to share his knowledge about fresh, organic food.”

How can a small business manage online customer reviews and ratings?

In an age of Yelp and Google reviews, every contribution — whether positive or negative — can have an impact. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when encountering reviews of your small family business in the wild and the role they can play in advertising your small business.

1. Establish your company profile on the big review platforms.

Take control of your business name on Google, Facebook, Yelp and industry-specific sites. This can help you manage the narrative around your company, connect with those reading your reviews and engage with those writing them.

2. Encourage customers to leave online reviews.

Utilize online forms and QR codes in your store and on receipts to make it easy for customers to share their experience. If you’re proud of what you’re doing, there will be more good reviews than bad.

Even bad reviews help you to identify areas for improvement, win back unhappy customers and signal transparency to potential visitors. Make sure to always thank reviewers for taking the time to provide feedback and keep the door open for them to return.

3. Make customer service one of your priorities.

Go the extra mile in offering a human-first experience to your customers and they are more likely to leave satisfied and eager to give a positive review. Share your family business story when appropriate to develop that human connection.

4. Answer bad reviews calmly and constructively.

A hot-headed or inelegant response, even to an unfair review, can only make things worse. Thank the reviewer, acknowledge their complaint, explain if necessary — and improve your business based on the feedback if possible.

For small family businesses, establishing trust with potential customers requires building strong word-of-mouth and engaging with online feedback.

Methodology

We began by compiling a seed list of major U.S. cities, focusing on the 100 most populous and the five most populous in each state.

The next step was to input the term “family-owned” into Yelp and isolate the 100 highest-rated businesses in each of the selected cities. We then performed a manual data analysis to verify that each selected business was family-owned.

We were then able to identify the highest-rated family-owned businesses by state, city and industry, ranking each one with a precise two-decimal Yelp rating out of 5. For any businesses that tied, we ranked those with the most reviews higher, helping us identify the best family-run enterprises in the country.

All data is correct as of June 2026.