Restaurants

The 436,000 restaurant companies in the US include full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants (fast food, snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars), fast-casual restaurants, grills, buffets, and cafeterias. Franchise restaurants are individually owned and operated and benefit from marketing and operational assistance provided by a franchisor.

Competition For The Food Dollar

While the restaurant industry is highly competitive, eating establishments also compete with convenience stores, grocery stores, warehouse clubs, and home cooking.

Emphasizing Health and Sustainability

Increasing consumer concern for health and the environment has led to growing demand for healthier and more sustainable restaurant menu options.

Oct 14, 2026 - All-You-Can-Eat Deals Drawing Thrifty Diners

• All-you-can-eat promotions are attracting budget-conscious diners, but rising food, labor, and fuel costs make them risky for restaurant operators, The Wall Street Journal reports. Golden Corral, which operates about 350 locations, carefully manages food costs by pairing expensive items like shrimp and steak with cheaper sides such as potatoes and hush puppies. The chain also uses sales data to forecast food preparation in 15-minute increments, helping reduce waste while maintaining quality, according to WSJ. Food costs account for about 38% of sales, but self-service helps keep labor expenses lower than at traditional restaurants. Operators also encourage beverage purchases to boost revenue and introduce lower-cost proteins to protect margins. With consumer interest in unlimited dining growing, restaurants can use these promotions to increase traffic, but success depends on controlling portions, minimizing waste, maintaining high customer volume, and managing costs.
• Food services providers face renewed cost pressure even as the broader services economy continues to grow. The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for services providers fell to 54.9 in September from 55.4 in August, indicating a slower pace of expansion. Meanwhile, the prices index climbed to 74, its highest level since July 2022, signaling rapidly rising costs for service businesses. Fuel was the most frequently cited issue, while supply chain constraints were increasing both costs and delivery times. For restaurants, caters, and other hospitality providers, higher fuel and supplier costs could raise expenses for food, beverages, linens, equipment, and other supplies. Employment also returned to slight growth, potentially adding to payroll expenses. Restaurants may need to raise menu prices, adjust purchasing, or absorb higher costs, putting additional pressure on already tight operating margins.
• 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.
• A multistate Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands has created significant challenges for restaurants by reducing customer traffic and increasing food costs, AP News reports. Taco Bell's US same-store sales fell 2% early in the July-September quarter after the outbreak, prompting the chain to remove affected lettuce and launch promotions to rebuild customer confidence. Other restaurant chains, including Chipotle, Chopt, and Sweetgreen, also reported weaker traffic or reduced sales expectations despite not being directly linked to the outbreak. The incident comes as restaurants are already coping with sharply higher lettuce prices caused by weather-related supply shortages and rising transportation costs. The outbreak underscores the financial risks foodborne illness poses to restaurants, including lost sales, higher ingredient costs, supply chain disruptions, and the need for stronger food safety, traceability, and crisis communication efforts.

Industry size & Structure

A typical restaurant operates out of a single location, employs about 22 workers, and generates $1-2 million annually.

• The restaurant industry consists of about 436,800 companies which employ 9.7 million workers and generate almost $800 billion annually.
• The industry includes full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants (fast food, snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars), fast-casual restaurants, grills, buffets, and cafeterias. Food service contractors, bars that serve mainly alcoholic beverages, mobile food services, and caterers are not included.
• Franchise restaurants are individually owned and operated and benefit from a recognizable brand name, corporate marketing, volume purchasing, and operational assistance provided by a franchisor.
• Restaurants may specialize by type of fare (Mexican, Chinese), dish (hamburgers, sushi), item (cookies, ice cream), or meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
• Large restaurant companies include McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Wendy's, Golden Corral, Ruby Tuesday, DineEquity (Applebees) and Starbucks.
• 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.
• In 2025, limited-service restaurants accounted for 36.5% of food-away-from-home spending, full-service restaurants accounted for 34.5%, and other FAFH establishments accounted for 29%.