Use this to control the balance between chain and independent restaurants in your search.

The chainPreference field lets you control whether chain restaurants and independent venues are preferred in your search results. This is useful for users who have strong preferences about supporting local businesses or prefer the consistency of well-known chains.

Basic usage

Basic chain preference

preferences: {
  chainPreference: "PREFER_INDEPENDENT";
}

Available options

NO_CHAINS

Exclude all chain restaurants from results.

PREFER_INDEPENDENT

Prioritize independent venues, but include chains if needed.

NO_PREFERENCE

No preference between chains and independent venues (default).

PREFER_CHAINS

Prioritize chain restaurants, but include independents if needed.

CHAINS_ONLY

Only include chain restaurants in results.

Real-world examples

Support local businesses

  preferences: {
    chainPreference: "PREFER_INDEPENDENT",
    goodFor: ["dinner", "conversation"]
  }

Best practice

Consider user context: Different users have different preferences
Use appropriate defaults: NO_PREFERENCE is often the safest choice
Provide user choice: Let users select their chain preference when possible

Next steps

Establishment Types

Combine chain preferences with venue types.

Atmosphere & Purpose

Match chain preferences to specific use cases.

Chains