September 19, 2023
Last week, New York Times food reporter Julia Moskin examined what happened when Michelin launched its sought-after dining guide in Colorado. The story is yet another look at Michelin’s financial model, which hinges on tourism boards paying the tire company to bring in its inspectors and publish the guides. But it’s not entirely pay-to-play, according to Michelin. The guides director “said that ‘vibrancy’ and ‘dynamic potential’ are also taken into consideration, as an explanation of why rapidly growing Florida and Colorado — and Atlanta, coming next year — have guides, while New Orleans and New England do not,” Moskin writes.