What's the restaurant outlook for 2023?

A new survey from the National Restaurant Association finds that operators have a mixed outlook for 2023, which is not all that surprising given the relentlessly bumpy macroeconomic environment throughout much of 2022.

Much of what is keeping operators up at night are food and labor costs; 92% say food costs are a significant challenge, while 89% say the same about labor costs. The Producer Price Index for all foods increased 18 out of the last 23 months, while some commodity prices jumped by double digits. Coffee and egg costs, for instance, contributed to a 30% jump in breakfast inflation during 2022, according to David Maloni, principal at Datum FS.

Now let’s turn to Alicia Kelso for more on the story.