Popeye’s. TGI Fridays. Roti. Buca di Beppo. And of course Red Lobster. These are just a few of more than a dozen high-profile restaurant chains that have declared bankruptcy in 2024.
On one level, what we’re seeing is some restaurants buckle under the intense pressures the past two years have brought. There were the shortages, inflation, and rising labor costs.
“We had weird fingerling potato shortages, there were issues with limes tripling in costs,” said Kelly Bush, co-owner of the Union Tavern and Marshall Street Bar and Grill in Rochester, New York. “People’s patterns and behaviors have changed.”
Restaurant foot traffic has declined in the U.S. by 3%-3.5%, “which is huge,” said…
