More than 110,000 restaurants—17% of establishments—have closed since March, according to the latest data from the National Restaurant Association. The survey of 6,000 operators, conducted from Nov. 16-30, found that 10,000 restaurants have closed over the past three months due to the pandemic. Some 100,000 restaurants had shut as of September.
Most of these restaurants were established in the industry for years, and on average, had been in business for 16 years. About 16% of the shuttered eateries had been in business for 30 or more years,
What’s more, 87% of full-service restaurants saw revenue slip 36% during the past three months, and 83% of operators expect the next three months to be even worse. More than half (58%) of operators surveyed said that they expect layoffs and furloughs to continue in the next three months.
In a Dec. 7 letter to Congressional leaders, Sean Kennedy, the NRA’s executive vice president for public affairs, said that more than 500,000 restaurants of every type “are in an economic free fall.” And for every month that passes without a solution from Congress, he said, “thousands more restaurants will close their doors for good.”
The letter supported the $908 billion emergency bipartisan relief package as a short-term solution. Kennedy noted that the plan “represents a ‘down payment’ for a larger relief package in early 2021, providing restaurants with immediate relief to survive the most dangerous point in our business season.”
