For restaurants, the slow but steady growth in sales projected for 2011 is the best news in years. But restaurateurs and industry experts are keeping the champagne on ice, saying that it's going to be a long haul to full recovery.
According to Technomic, a Chicago-based restaurant consultancy, the industry is expected to post a 1.6 percent sales increase in 2011, essentially on higher prices, after eking out a 0.1 percent increase in 2010. Gains were driven by a strong second half of the year. Industry sales are still about 7 percent below 2007 levels, according to the group.
Restaurants suffered their biggest declines in a generation in 2009. Many public companies have suggested that the industry won't return to 2007 levels until unemployment drops.
According to market research firm NPD Group, high employment is problematic for the restaurant industry because it has been highest among 18- to 34-year-olds, a group that typically eats out more.
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