Operators brace for cuts in summer travel, dining as gas pump prices soar

With gas prices hitting a national average of $3.18 per gallon just before Memorial Day, a record high even when adjusted for inflation, research points to a summer travel season of reduced consumer spending, especially at restaurants.

Optimistic pundits and operators say consumers have already adjusted their spending habits from high gas prices last summer and that restaurants this year should see sales on par with prior results, maybe even outdoing other discretionary retail segment