Industry Trends

2021 STATE OF THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY REPORT

The National Restaurant Association recently released its 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report to measure the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the industry. The report also examines off-premises, labor and menu trends based on a survey of 6,000 restaurant operators, and consumer preferences based on a survey of 1,000 adults. Finally, the report provides a look at the year of transition ahead.

Key findings regarding the impact of the coronavirus on the restaurant industry include:

• Restaurant and food service industry sales fell by $240 billion in 2020 from an expected level of $899 billion. • As of December 1, 2020, more than 110,000 eating and drinking places were closed for business temporarily or for good. • The eating and drinking place sector finished 2020 nearly 2.5 million jobs below its pre-coronavirus level.

“While we still have a long way to go, we are confident in the resilience of the industry’s workforce, operators, suppliers and diners. The year ahead will be critical as we continue to advocate for much-needed recovery funds to help get our industry back on track. Working together as one, I am confident in our ability to continue safely serving our guests and supporting our communities,” says Tom Bené, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.

ACCELERATED ADOPTION OF OFF-PREMISES

State and local mandates forced operators to introduce, streamline or enhance off-premises and contactless capabilities. Takeout and delivery became a part of people’s routines with 68% of consumers more likely to purchase takeout from a restaurant than before the pandemic, and 53% of consumers who say takeout and delivery is essential to the way they live.

Other key takeaways include:

• 64% of delivery customers prefer to order directly from the restaurant and 18% prefer to order through a thirdparty service. • 72% of adults say it’s important their delivery orders come from a location that they can visit in person — as opposed to a virtual kitchen space.

Approximately 35% of off-premises customers — with millennials leading the category at 53% — are more likely to choose a restaurant if it offers the option of including alcoholic beverages with the to-go order.

DEVASTATING YEAR FOR THE WORKFORCE

The impact of the pandemic caused staffing levels to fall across all restaurant and food service segments with restaurant employment below pre-pandemic levels in 47 states and D.C. Key figures on the restaurant workforce include:

• 62% of fine dining operators, and 54% of both family and casual dining operators say staffing levels are more than 20% below normal. • There are nearly 2 million fewer 16- to 34-year-olds in the labor force. • Restaurants were hit harder than most industries during the pandemic and still have the longest climb back to pre-coronavirus employment levels.

STREAMLINED MENUS WITH COMFORT FOOD AND ALCOHOL TO GO

While restaurants continue to streamline operations, their menus prove no exception with 63% of fine dining operators, and half of casual and family dining operators saying they have fewer items on the menu than before the pandemic. Consumers are equally influenced to choose one restaurant over another if the restaurant offers a good selection of comfort foods and/or dishes on the healthier side, but the availability of diet-specific fare, such as vegan or gluten-free, plays a lesser role. The availability of alcohol to go with takeout orders, however, is a major influence in restaurant choice.

Restaurants are meeting these demands with one in five family and casual dining operators adding comfort items, and seven in 10 full-service operators adding alcohol to go since March

INDUSTRY TRENDS

2020. (See Page 20 for more information on the status of Drinks to Go legislation in the state.) Consumers are also finding new ways to enjoy their favorite restaurants, such as embracing bundled meals, restaurant subscription services and meal kits.

Key data points on food and beverage trends include:

• 38% of on-premises and 33% of off-premises customers say their restaurant choices will be influenced by whether the menus include the comfort foods they crave. • 38% of on-premises customers say healthy choices would impact their restaurant choice. • Approximately 35% of off-premises customers — with millennials leading the category at 53% — are more likely to choose a restaurant if it offers the option of including alcoholic beverages with the to-go order.

PENT-UP CONSUMER DEMAND REMAINS HIGH

There is no doubt consumers are ready to return to restaurants. They are an integral part of our social fabric and six in 10 adults say restaurants are an essential part of their lifestyle. In late April 2020, 83% of adults said they were not eating on premises at restaurants as often as they’d like, a big jump from the 45% reported in January 2020.

Additional data validates that pent-up demand includes:

• 88% of adults enjoy going to restaurants, and 85% of them say going out to a restaurant with family or friends is a better way to spend their leisure time than cooking (and cleaning) at home. • Nearly eight in 10 adults say their favorite restaurant foods deliver flavor and taste sensations that can’t be duplicated in the home kitchen. • A majority of adults across all generations say they are not eating at restaurants as often as they would like.

“We’ve found that, even as the vaccine becomes more available and more social occasions return to restaurants, consumers will continue to desire expanded off-premises options going forward,” says Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research and knowledge, National Restaurant Association. “With more than half of adults saying that restaurants are an essential part of their lifestyle, we are confident that, with time, the industry is positioned for successful recovery.”

KILKEA’S IRISH TWIST RECIPE

Kilkea Castle, a luxury hotel resort and golf club in County Kildare, Ireland, is offering a tasty cocktail to put a spring in your patrons’ steps. The resort’s resident master mixologist David Pedro curated Kilkea’s Irish Twist using gin from a local Irish distillery.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Ounce of Ballykeefe Gin • ½ Ounce of White Tequila • ½ Ounce of White Rum • 1 Ounce of Blue Curacao • 4 Ounces of Orange Juice • Orange Peel • Orange Slice

COCKTAIL RECIPE

Combine all of the ingredients (except for the orange slice and orange peel) with a scoop of ice in a large Boston glass. Shake the Boston glass for 20 seconds to bring the drink’s foam to the surface, then strain its contents into a chilled whiskey glass with ice. Add the orange peel to the glass, garnish with the orange slice and enjoy!

ENJOY EVERY DROP OF WINE

There’s an art to preserving wine. While you may have heard it’s important to let wine breathe, oxygen degrades the bottle the longer it’s open. Oxidation can spoil bottles of wine as quickly as 24 hours after opening.

Argon gas is winemakers’ preferred method to prevent oxidation and the ArT Wine Preserver® is a recyclable wine saver that uses pure argon gas to displace oxygen.

ArT Wine Preserver® is on a mission to reduce waste, starting with wine. In the U.S. alone, the company estimates home consumers pour more than $1.27 billion of wine down the drain and restaurants pour out another 18+ million bottles. In 2020, the company saved 24,260 bottles of wine. (ArT Wine Preserver® conducts annual surveys to measure usage and