What is 2022 going to be like for restaurants?
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Hudson Riehle, SVP of the research and knowledge group with the National Restaurant Association, to talk about the group’s recent State of the Restaurant Industry report.
The report is an annual compilation of data and surveys on the industry and provides a snapshot of where the business stands and where it’s headed during the coming year.
The association is predicting $898 billion in sales this year, which would represent a full recovery from the pandemic. Yet it remains well behind pre-pandemic levels when adjusted for inflation and where the industry would have been had there been no pandemic. The association is majority owner of Restaurant Business parent company Winsight.
Riehle discusses the impact of the pandemic on the industry and talks about the uncertainty restaurants will face this year. He also discusses issues related to inflation and labor availability and how long that might last.
He discusses sales projections and talks about some interesting pieces of note from the report.
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