Is eating out still in?
Executive Summary
The U.S. restaurant industry faces a fundamental problem: too many eateries and not enough customers. Challenging the industry are disruptive forces that include a sharp decline in the number of people eating lunch out, stiff competition from food trucks, the rise of home-delivered meals and other food and the indirect effects of changing lifestyles such as greater online shopping. The total number of restaurants has fallen by 2 percent since 2014, and traffic at the remaining ones has been essentially flat. Full-service casual chain restaurants are especially hard-pressed, while lower-end fast-food chains that serve breakfast all day are in better shape and high-end restaurants in prosperous coastal cities are doing well.
Among the key takeaways:
Retail food prices decreased by 1.3 percent in 2016, while restaurant prices rose 2.5 percent as labor and health care costs increased.
Diners who patronize fast-food and fast-casual establishments at least twice a week intend to cut back their visits by 8 percent and 13 percent, respectively, over the next 12 months.
Digital ordering via smartphone apps has grown 18 percent over the past year, creating a growth opportunity for restaurants.
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Resources for Further Study
Bibliography
Books
“So, You’re Thinking About Owning, Operating or Investing in a Restaurant …: How to Get Into the Restaurant Business with Eyes Wide Open,” RSG LLC, 2016. This book by Restaurant Startup & Growth and RestaurantOwner.com explains what you need to know before investing in a restaurant.
Fields, Roger, “Restaurant Success by the Numbers, Second Edition: A Money-Guy’s Guide to Opening the Next New Hot Spot,” Ten Speed Press, 2014. This one-stop guide to opening a restaurant from an accountant-turned-restaurateur shows aspiring proprietors how to succeed in the crucial first year and beyond.
Articles
“2016 Was the Worst Restaurant Year Since the Recession,” QSR, Jan. 13, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Jargon, Julie, “Diners Are Finding $13 Burgers Hard to Swallow,” The Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Jargon, Julie, “Going Out for Lunch Is a Dying Tradition,” The Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Thompson, Derek, “The Paradox of American Restaurants,” The Atlantic, June 20, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
Reports and Studies
“Global restaurant outlook: feeding the global consumer,” AlixPartners, October 2016, http://tinyurl.com/
“Mobile Invasion: Mobile Payments in Restaurants,” National Restaurant Association, May 11, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/
“What’s Hot Culinary Forecast,” National Restaurant Association, 2017, http://tinyurl.com/
The Next Step
Social Media
Breuninger, Kevin, “How social media is transforming your dinner,” CNBC, July 8, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Hagerty, Kyle, “How Instagram And Retail Created The Perfect Recipe For Restaurant Anchors,” Bisnow, July 12, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Yagoda, Maria, “Do Restaurants Come Up with Dishes Just for the ‘Gram?” Food and Wine, July 7, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Technology
Baskas, Harriet, “Gate delivery could be game-changer for airports,” USA Today, July 10, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Radu, Sintia, “Blue Apron promised to bring disruption to the food business. Then it got disrupted,” The Washington Post, June 21, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Sherman, Elisabeth, “Food Delivery Market Surging Thanks to Online Orders,” Food & Wine, July 13, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/
Organizations
AlixPartners
2099 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., #300, Washington, DC 20006
1-202-756-9000
www.alixpartners.com/
Global consulting firm that tracks the restaurant industry.
Black Box Intelligence
17304 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75252
1-972-364-0490
www.blackboxintelligence.com
Consulting firm that provides restaurant-industry metrics, sales trends and performance data.
National Restaurant Association
2055 L St., N.W., #700, Washington, DC 20036
1-202-331-5900
www.restaurant.org
One of the largest food service trade associations in the world, supporting more than 500,000 restaurant businesses.
NPD Group Inc.
900 W. Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050
1-516-625-0700
www.npd.com
Global information company that tracks the restaurant industry.
Statista Inc.
55 Broad St., 30th floor, New York, NY 10004
1-212-433-2270
www.statista.com/
Online portal for statistics, market research and business intelligence.
Technomic
300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60606
1-312-876-0004
http://www.technomic.com/
Business management consulting firm that specializes in the food service industry.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20212
1-202-691-5200
www.bls.gov
Federal agency that collects data on employment and wages.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250
1-202-720-2791
www.usda.gov
Government department that tracks food prices.
DOI: 10.1177/237455680322.n1