U.S. Restaurants To Benefit As Grocery Prices Rise

LOS ANGELES, Jan 18 – Rising grocery prices are driving more U.S. diners back to restaurants, which saw traffic fall when the recession sent supermarket food prices down sharply, NPD Group Inc, a market research firm, said on Tuesday.

"Right now, supermarket prices are rising faster than restaurant prices," said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at NPD and author of "Eating Patterns in America."

"The advantage is to the restaurant," said Balzer, who expects restaurant menu price increases to lag price hikes in the grocery aisle for all of this year.

While Americans prepare 72 percent of their meals at home, they spend almost half of their food dollars in restaurants, Balzer said.

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