01/05/2023 | Press release | Archived content
Washington, D.C. 2022 was a year of uncontrollable pressures for restaurant operators: rising inflation forced supply costs up, made borrowing capital more difficult, and forced them to raise menu prices. According to the latest National Restaurant Association Business Conditions survey, the trifecta of higher food costs, labor costs and energy/utility costs are now a significant challenge for a majority of operations.
"The restaurant industry is ending the year in an environment that's the most typical since 2019," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research for the National Restaurant Association. "Moderate but positive employment growth across the economy and elevated consumer spending in restaurants will allow the restaurant industry to kick off 2023 on a more optimistic note than the last few years, but operators remain braced for potential challenges in the new year."
Surging costs are a significant challenge
Food and labor costs are the two most significant line items for a restaurant, each accounting for approximately 33 cents of every dollar in sales. Other expenses - such as utilities, occupancy, supplies, general/administrative and repairs/maintenance - combine to represent about 29% of sales. A strong majority of operators say food, labor and energy/utility costs are currently significant challenges for their restaurant.
About the National Restaurant Association
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises nearly 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry's largest trade show (National Restaurant Association Show); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find @WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Vanessa Sink
[email protected](202) 331-5900