Terms of use

Effective 26 September 2026

These terms cover the Chicago Restaurants: Ranked app for iPhone and iPad (“Chi Ranked”) and this website (together, the “service”). The service is published by Nicholas Soderstrom, a sole proprietor in Illinois, USA (“we”, “us”). By using it you agree to these terms.

Free to use

The app is free. There are no ads, no in-app purchases and no account.

Information, provided as is

The service summarizes public records and other published sources for general information. Records can be incomplete, out of date, duplicated or wrong, and matching records to the right business can fail. The app only contains data up to its last update. Before relying on anything you see, especially for a decision that matters to you, check the City of Chicago’s official inspection records.

Our grades are not official

The 0–100 scores and A–F grades are calculated by us from City of Chicago inspection records using the method described on What our A–F grades mean. They are our automated summary of past inspection records. They are not official City of Chicago grades, not a food safety certification, and not a statement about current conditions at any business.

No affiliation

We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Cook County or the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the Michelin Guide, the James Beard Foundation, Restaurant Business or the Overture Maps Foundation. Names and marks belong to their owners and are used only to identify the source of information or the business described.

Data sources and licenses

City of Chicago data is used under the Chicago Data Portal terms of use. Cook County Assessor data comes from Cook County’s open data portal. Places data from the Overture Maps Foundation is used under the CDLA Permissive 2.0, Apache 2.0 and CC0 licenses that apply to its sources. Attributions are listed in the app’s About screen and on this site.

Business owners

Inspection results belong to the City of Chicago, and we show what the City published. If your business is matched to the wrong records, or its name, address or other details are wrong, email work-with-nick@gmail.com and we will fix matching errors in a future update. We do not change grades on request or for payment.

Fair use of the service

Please don’t use the service to harass businesses or their staff, or in a way that breaks the law or interferes with the service.

Third-party services

Maps and directions are provided by Apple. Links to restaurant websites and to GitHub take you to services we don’t control, under their own terms.

App Store terms

The app is licensed to you under Apple’s Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement, together with these terms. Apple is not responsible for the app or its content and has no obligation to provide support for it.

Disclaimer of warranties

To the extent the law allows, the service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for any loss arising from your use of or reliance on the service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the service is limited to US$50.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be heard in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois, unless the law where you live requires otherwise.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms; the new version will be posted here with a new effective date. Questions go to work-with-nick@gmail.com.

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