National restaurant report depicts daunting industry challenges
File Photo / Renee Cordes
Petite Jacqueline, a French bistro in Portland's Old Port district, has gotten by during the pandemic with the help of new services such as delivery. But a new report paints a dire picture for restaurants nationally.
A new study of the restaurant industry paints a grim picture of the pandemic’s impact nationally, and mirrors a trend in Maine.
The 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, released Tuesday by the National Restaurant Association, polled 6,000 eatery operators and 1,000 consumers. Among the findings:
- Restaurant and food service sales fell by $240 billion in 2020 from an expected level of $899 billion.
- As of Dec. 1, 2020, more than 110,000 eating and drinking places were closed for business temporarily, or for good.
- Eating and drinking places lost 2.5 million jobs from pre-pandemic levels.
The restaurant and food service industry was projected to provide 15.6 million jobs in 2020, representing 10% of all jobs in the U.S. economy, according to the report.
In Maine, dozens of restaurants have closed across the state since the onset of COVID-19. They have included Portland foodie favorites such as Blue Spoon Cafe, Drifters Wife and Vinland. (For a running tally of shuttered eateries, visit this Portland Food Map list.)
While many restaurants have responded to the pandemic by offering take-out service, delivery, and socially distanced seating, nearly three out of four respondents in a recent poll said they have not resumed dining at restaurants.
The national association’s president and CEO, Tom Bené, said in a news release, “As we approach the one-year mark of pandemic-related dining restrictions, we know that virtually every restaurant in every community has been impacted. Amid an ever-changing landscape of dining restrictions and widespread closures, restaurants found ways to adapt, keep people employed, and safely serve our guests.”
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