August is historically a slow month for restaurants — that's why you see so many restaurant-week dining promotions scheduled for this month. August is also a slow month for food journalists, which is why you see so many restaurant-industry trend reports.
One that got a fair amount of play last week was a restaurant "census" published by a Chicago-based market research company that showed a 2 percent decrease in the country's total number of restaurants. The NPD Spring 2011 ReCount found that most of the losses were among independent restaurants, whose total count fell by 3 percent.
The same census found no net loss in the Baltimore area among either independent or chain restaurants. The total number of restaurants counted in the spring 2010 survey was 5,218 and in spring 2011 was 5,234.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Baltimore Sun
