Washington, D.C., restaurant traffic hit by government shutdown
The U.S. government shutdown, as of the time of publication, has been going on a month and at this point who knows if there is an ending in sight. The…
Share
Posts by author
Alicia Kelso
46 posts
Innovation, investment critical as restaurant growth slows
The more you ask operators or analysts to explain the current state of the restaurant industry, the murkier it seems to get. We had an understanding of the Great Recession…
Share
Nearly 40% of Americans are dining out less frequently
Relentlessly high menu prices coupled with macroeconomic pressures have been a major narrative for well over a year now, driving a decline in traffic and frequency across most restaurant segments.…
Share
The menu and grocery price gap shrunk in September
The Consumer Price Index for September, announced Friday, shows that inflation rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3% year-over-year. The CPI reading is at its highest level since January but fell below…
Share
The AWS outage left many restaurants scrambling
It was a peek into what life could possibly look like in late 2025 without the internet, and it was … quite an adjustment. When Amazon Web Services went down…
Share
Opa Restaurant Group files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Opa Authentic Greek Cuisine has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. In its filing, the group notes that it is…
Share
Younger consumers pull back their restaurant spending
There have been plenty of comments from plenty of major restaurant executives about a pullback in spending among lower-income consumers. Some have even warned that middle-income consumers are following suit.…
Share
Full-service menu prices jump at their highest rate since 2023
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9% for the 12 months ending August, after rising 2.7% in July, according to federal data released Thursday morning. This marked the highest inflationary uptick…
Share
Restaurants are a bright spot amid a slow jobs report
The August jobs report released on Friday morning indicated a significant slowdown in hiring, with just 22,000 total positions added during the month. Throughout the past four months, 107,000 net…
Share
How restaurant operators can pivot in a challenging environment
If the current environment is giving you 2008 or even 2020 vibes as a restaurant operator, you’re not alone. “It’s hard right now. We feel the heat,” US Foods restaurant…
Share