The restaurant industry overindulged — and now it’s paying the price

The Washington Post reports:

Since the recession ended, visits to U.S. restaurants had been growing steadily at around 1 percent a year, according to market research firm NPD Group, giving these dining companies ever more opportunities to pull down dollars.

But 2016 was different. Restaurant visits declined slightly, according to NPD.

And there are fresh signs of trouble for established restaurants. Based on sales and guest count data from some 22,000 restaurant locations, BlackBox Intelligence says same-store traffic to these places was down 3.6 percent in the first quarter, adding to a streak of declines that began last year.

An article well worth your time.