While 90,000 restaurants went out of business in 2020, Smith said, citing conservative estimates from market reports, there’s a silver lining for those that weathered the storm.
“Customer demand is coming back greater than pre-pandemic, and because a lot of restaurants went out of business last year, this demand is being underserved,” he said.
As of early June, restaurant sales for the country are 5.4% higher than the comparable week in 2019, pre-pandemic.
What’s more, the state of California has seen restaurant sales increase 64% between January and June, which compares to a 47% uptick for the overall country.
Smith added, “A resurgence is happening.”
—Jessie Yount
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Restaurant Industry in Recovery
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