The United States' 500 largest restaurant chains posted 2008 sales of USD 230.2 billion (EUR 175 billion), up USD 7.6 billion (EUR 5.8 billion) from 2007, foodservice consulting and research firm Technomic reported on Monday.
However, the chains registered sales growth of 3.4 percent last year, down from 5 percent the previous year, according to the Chicago company.
The chains also scaled back their expansion efforts, increasing the number of units by just 1.8 percent in 2008, down from 2.6 percent in 2007.
"As the U.S. economy slid into recession last year, restaurant operators faced a host of challenges, including cost pressures followed by declines in consumer dining demand," said Technomic President Ron Paul. "The data in this report clearly supports what we've been hearing in our consumer research surveys over the past year."
Full-service seafood chains posted sales growth of just 0.4 percent last year, compared to 0.9 percent for all full-service chains. Full-service Mexican and steak chains also watched their annual sales growth rates drop, while Italian chains managed above-average sales growth of 3.4 percent.
Limited-service chains fared better than full-service chains, recording sales growth of 4.5 percent in 2008.
