ROSEMONT, Ill. -- According to The NPD Group's fall 2008 ReCount study, the number of restaurants opened in 2008 was balanced out by the number of restaurants that closed, resulting in no growth in total restaurant units in 2008. NPD's latest ReCount, a census of commercial restaurant locations in the United States, shows restaurant industry unit count flat in 2008, compared to 2 percent growth in 2007.
According to the study, major and midsize chain restaurants, led by the largest chains (500+ units), were up 1 percent. Smaller chains (3-49 units) and independent units declined. The family dining segment is contracting across all system types while the QSR segment continued to add units though at a much slower rate.
"In any given year, chains are opening and closing units based on performance and other factors," said Greg Starzynski, director, product development-foodservice at NPD. "However, the recession this past year has had the most negative impact on the small chains and independents, and full-service restaurants that were performing poorly prior to the economic downturn."
In terms of restaurant unit counts by geography, NPD found that the West census bureau region increased total restaurant units by 1 percent, whereas the Northeast census region decreased restaurant units by 1 percent. The South census region stayed flat compared to a year ago, and the North region decreased units by 1 percent.
