United States Restaurant Counts slip 0.3%

In a year when the restaurant industry experienced its steepest traffic declines in three decades, the total restaurant unit count was relatively flat, dipping slightly by -0.3 percent or less 1,652 restaurant units nationwide, compared to a year ago, according to a restaurant census conducted in fall 2009 by The NPD Group, a leading market research company.

NPD’s latest ReCount®, a census of commercial restaurant locations in the United States conducted in the spring and fall each year, shows unit counts for total chain restaurants flat and independent unit counts down -1 percent in fall 2009 compared to fall 2008. Unit counts for total chain quick service restaurants remained stable while independent quick service restaurants units declined -2 percent. Full service restaurants (casual dining, midscale, and fine dining) counts were flat for both total chain and independents. However looking deeper, mid-sized, and minor chains are showing declines across the board while major chains are growing slightly in both segments.

“NPD’s fall 2009 ReCount reflects a slowdown in chains expanding, and two years of a challenging economy already weeding out the poorest performing restaurants,” said Greg Starzynski, director, product development-foodservice at NPD. “The economy has been particularly hard on independent restaurants and smaller regional chains that don’t have the same financial resources as the national chains.”