We’ve covered at length the weird macroeconomic backdrop casting a tall shadow for the past two or so years. To summarize the weirdness, consider debilitating inflation, meteoric interest rates and spiraling consumer debt coupled with low unemployment rates and pent-up demand driving high discretionary spending levels. The restaurant industry has benefited from this resiliently discretionary consumer, who has shown a remarkable willingness to visit despite elevated menu prices.
This almost-counterintuitive trend also seems to be driving more optimism for operators and aspiring operators. According to a new report from Yelp, new restaurant openings surpassed pre-pandemic openings in 2023. This indicates the industry may have made a full recovery nearly four years after mandated closures were put into place to control a then-unknown and quickly spreading virus, which impacted an estimated 110,000 restaurants.