The U.S. restaurant industry is coming off a year in which it struggled to keep menu prices low due to high labor and operational costs at the same time inflationary pressures led consumers to eat more food at home.
This resulted in several notable bankruptcies, including Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Rubio’s Coastal Grill, Buca di Beppo, and more.
Some of these challenging trends are likely to continue in 2025, but National Restaurant Association (NRA) Vice President for Research and Knowledge Chad Moutray said there are some avenues for restaurants, including those with seafood-heavy menus, to grow their sales.
Speaking at the 2025 Global Seafood Market Conference in Palm Desert, California, U.S.A., Moutray said one of the top ways to grow sales for the upcoming year will be to prioritize off-premise, or takeout and delivery, sales.
“On-premise sales have rebounded from where they were early in the pandemic but have not recovered to where they were in February 2020,” Moutray said. “The flip of that is true for off-premise. People are getting takeout and delivery on a much more frequent basis, with off-premise sales up about 13 percent since the start of the pandemic.”
He further explained that there is a generational gap between consumers seeking takeout and delivery.
According to NRA data, 67 percent of Gen Z adults, or those between the ages of 18 and 28, say that ordering takeout is an essential part of their lifestyle, compared to just 34 percent of baby boomers. Similarly, around 85 percent of Gen Z adults say they wish they had more choices of restaurants that offer takeout in their area, compared to 49 percent of baby boomers...
