Restaurant industry struggles to recover

The National Restaurant Association reports that the restaurant industry is in worse shape than it was three months ago. The survey data released on Wednesday, 78% of restaurant operators say that they have seen a decline in customers in recent weeks due to concerns over the Delta variant. This decline of customers combined with the rising costs of food has slashed the thin margins for the industry. Another factor that weighs in is the ongoing labor shortage in the country. 91% of restaurants said that they now pay more for food items and 84% responded that they have labor costs due to the staffing and labor shortage. Restaurants find it hard to keep up with incoming demands with fewer workers. 

71% of restaurants said that they are currently understaffed and nearly every restaurant responded that they experienced supply delays and shortages of key food and beverage items delivered to them. The executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association Sean Kennedy said that the nation's restaurant industry is officially moving in reverse. The association predicts that the recovery for restaurant businesses will go well into 2022. The group has also reached out to Congress to allot more funds to refresh the tapped-out Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 

Source: CNN