The uptrend in home dining can WORK for restaurants

We’re in a great industry: no matter what, people have a great love for food. And their love for food is like the air in a balloon – you can crush it on one end, but it comes up somewhere else.
The trick is to be where the air rises.

We’re in a great industry: no matter what, people have a great love for food. And their love for food is like the air in a balloon – you can crush it on one end, but it comes up somewhere else. Which can be good news.

People are dining out less in many restaurant segments; in others, the growth has slowed to a crawl.

No use whining about it. The love of food is showing up in other areas, and if we follow where people are going, and we respond, we can be part of it.

Karlene Lukovitz, of MediaPost Marketing Daily:

“Although the timing is coincidental, the results of new studies from two leading market research and consultancy firms dovetail to say much about the restaurant industry’s current status.

“The NPD Group, Inc. is reporting that U.S. restaurant units dropped by 4,000—or 1%—between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, according to the company’s 2009 Spring ReCount. NPD compiles a census of commercial restaurant locations each spring and fall. The negative trend came on top of zero growth in the year leading up to last spring.

“On the flip side, a Technomic Inc. study confirms that the recession-driven uptrend in home entertainment represents a solid opportunity on the catering front for restaurants...” Read the entire article.