CHICAGO -- The total U.S. restaurant unit count dropped from 587,335 in fall 2010 to 580,852 in fall 2011, mostly due to independent restaurant closings, based on the most recent restaurant census conducted by The NPD Group, a leading market research company.
NPD’s fall 2011 ReCount, which is a census of commercial restaurant locations in the United States compiled in the spring and fall each year, reports that the number of independent restaurants declined by 6,863 units during the census period. Chain restaurant unit counts remained relatively stable increasing by 380 units.
The fall 2011 ReCount, which includes restaurants open as of Sept. 30, 2011, finds that the number of quick-service restaurants declined by 1% or 1,801 units. Full-service restaurant units, which includes casual dining, mid-scale and fine-dining restaurants, decreased by 4,682 units, a 2% decline from the fall 2010 ReCount.
“Restaurant unit losses were steep during the recession, but we are seeing that total unit losses are softening from past ReCount censuses,” said Greg Starzynski, director, product development-foodservice, NPD. “Independent restaurants, however, are still struggling.”
According to NPD’s CREST service, which continually tracks consumer usage of commercial and noncommercial foodservice outlets, for the year ending December 2011, visits to U.S. restaurants were flat from the same time a year ago. Consumer spending at restaurants improved by 1% for the year ending December 2011 compared to same time a year ago.
The NPD Group, Chicago, is a provider of comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 2,000 manufacturers, retailers and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels.
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