Full-Service Restaurants

The 258,626 full-service restaurants in the US provide food services to patrons who order and are served by waitstaff while seated and pay after eating, a practice known as “table service.” Firms may also offer catering services, food and beverage for off-premise consumption, and non-theatrical entertainment. The full-service restaurant industry includes chains, franchises, and independent operators.

Uneven Demand

Customer traffic at full-service restaurant can vary by day of the week and time of day.

High Turnover

Full-service restaurant operations are labor intensive, and the quality of service is highly dependent on staff.

Oct 14, 2026 - Job Growth Checked by Uncertainty

• Restaurant employment continues to grow modestly, but uneven hiring reflects cautious operators and inconsistent customer traffic, according to the latest employment data cited by the National Restaurant Association. Eating and drinking places added 10,800 jobs in September 2026, following a gain of 33,800 in August. The industry added nearly 50,000 jobs during the first nine months of 2026, with employment up 109,000 from a year earlier. However, staffing trends vary by restaurant type. Full-service restaurants remain 174,000 jobs, or 3%, below pre-pandemic levels, despite adding 88,000 jobs over the past year. Meanwhile, employment at coffee shops, snack bars, and similar businesses is 27% above pre-pandemic levels. With customer traffic still uneven, most restaurant operators are expected to maintain relatively steady staffing levels rather than aggressively expand payrolls until business conditions improve.
• Full-service restaurants are benefiting from improving consumer spending in 2026, although performance varies by operator and customer group, according to a new report from Bank of America (BoA). BoA card data shows overall restaurant spending rose 3.3% year over year in July, while transactions increased 1.1%, suggesting more consumers are dining out rather than growth coming solely from higher prices. Casual dining spending also improved, with growth among lower-, middle- and higher-income households. Younger consumers are an important growth driver, with Gen Z restaurant spending rising nearly 7% year over year. Independent and regional restaurants appear to be outperforming many large national chains, potentially benefiting locally owned full-service establishments. Easing restaurant inflation and stronger after-tax wage growth may further support consumers' willingness to dine out.
• The turnaround at Chili's suggests that restaurants may benefit more from investing in core technology than rushing to adopt artificial intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reports. Chili's owner Brinker International has driven 20 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth by upgrading Wi-Fi networks, payment systems, kitchen displays, and employee devices while improving food quality, service, and marketing, according to WSJ. Rather than deploying robot servers or broadly adopting generative AI, the company is taking a selective approach, testing AI primarily for back-office functions such as inventory forecasting. The strategy indicates that many full-service restaurants may achieve higher returns by modernizing foundational technology that improves guest experience and operational efficiency before investing heavily in emerging AI applications, which have yet to demonstrate broad customer or financial benefits in the restaurant industry.
• Producer prices for all foods declined 1.8% in August compared to a year ago after climbing 3.5% in the previous August-to-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Despite the recent decline, wholesale food prices remain near historical highs. Adding to cost pressures, payrolls at full-service restaurants are rising with employment growing 1.6% year over year in July and the average industry wage up 5.5% over the same period to $22.21 per hour, easing slightly from its peak in May, BLS data show.

Industry size & Structure

The average full-service restaurant operates out of a single location, employs 24 workers, and generates nearly $1.8 million annually.

• The full-service restaurant industry consists of about 258,625 establishments that employ some 5.4 million workers and generate about $400 billion annually.
• The industry is highly fragmented; the top 50 companies account for 15% of industry revenue.
• The full-service restaurant industry includes chains, franchises, and independent operators. The largest chains include Olive Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chili’s. The largest franchises include Denny’s, IHOP, and Applebee’s. Larger firms may operate both company-owned and franchised locations.
• Food and labor costs are the two most significant expenses, each accounting for approximately 33 cents of every dollar in restaurant sales.
• Average menu prices increased 36% between February 2020 and May 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.