Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513

Jun 14, 2025 - Expanding Late-Night Service

• McDonald’s is among those chains courting night owls by expanding late-night service, Nation’s Restaurant News reports. In May, the fast-food-industry bellwether announced that a “vast majority” of its restaurants will be open until midnight or later this summer. The move comes as the company reported weakness at breakfast amid a broader consumer pullback, while the late-night daypart shows glimpses of strength, according to NRN. While breakfast and lunch both experienced declining traffic year-over-year in April, the evening daypart ticked up 1.2%, according to Revenue Management Solutions. Companies including Jack in the Box and Denny’s have reported outsized sales and foot traffic patterns during late-night hours, while White Castle doubled down on late-night in 2024, as more competitors compete for late-night diners, per NRN.
• The first quarter of 2025 marked one of the worst quarters that restaurant chains experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Restaurant Dive reported in May, citing widespread declines in same-store-sales at major restaurant chains. Major publicly-traded quick service restaurants experiencing declines in Q1 same-store-sales included McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Popeyes, and Wendy’s. The lone exception was Taco Bell which saw a 9% jump in comparable sales in Q1, defying the downward trend thanks to an aggressive value strategy and new premium dishes, according to a Restaurant Dive analysis of first quarter earnings reports. An examination of pizza delivery chains turned up similar results, with Q1 same-store-sales down at Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut. Customer visits and sales are declining as consumers rein in spending. Starbucks saw comparable sales fall in Q1 for the fifth consecutive quarter.

• Restaurant employment rose for the third consecutive month in May, fully restoring the jobs that were lost during the first two months of the year. Eating and drinking places added a net 30,200 jobs for the month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 91,000 jobs added during the last three months represented the strongest 3-month hiring streak since early-2023, according to the National Restaurant Association. It also confirmed that the job losses in January and February were largely due to poor weather conditions – rather than a turning point in the industry’s workforce expansion. The job gains came despite rising uncertainty that has kept consumers from visiting restaurants as frequently.
• According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends report nearly 75% of all restaurant traffic now occurs off-premises through takeout, delivery, or drive-thru. “Off-premises dining has become a key revenue driver and an essential way to engage consumers,” said the NRA’s chief economist Dr. Chad Moutray, adding “It now accounts for a larger share of sales for 58% of limited-service operators compared with 2019.” Nearly two-thirds (65%) of limited-service operators now offer delivery, with many expecting curbside and dedicated takeout areas to become even more common this year. Two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials say takeout is essential to their lifestyle, and nearly 6 in 10 use takeout or drive-thru at least weekly. Also, more than 60% say they’re ordering off-premises more often than a year ago, per the NRA report. Three-quarters of delivery customers say they value tech-enabled ordering and payments to speed transactions.