Joe Biden has presided over arguably one of the worst economies since the Jimmy Carter years.
The havoc he wreaked on all Americans will become Biden’s disastrous legacy.
And a restaurant CEO just revealed the depths of despair that became the new reality during Joe Biden’s Presidency.
Bankruptcies and closures reach new disturbing levels in the restaurant industry
The restaurant industry has been in total turmoil since Joe Biden took office in 2020.
Restaurants have had to deal with surging inflation and labor shortages due to President Joe Biden’s decision to pay people not to work coming out of the pandemic.
Major chains like Red Lobster, Buca di Beppo, BurgerFi, and TGI Fridays have filed for bankruptcy.
And chains like Denny’s, Hooters, and Wendy’s have all closed locations.
Cotton Patch Cafe CEO Brandon Coleman, the former CEO of TGI Fridays, told Fox News Digital that because of Biden’s failed economy the value restaurants provide customers is more important than ever.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about the heydays of fast-casual, the heydays of casual dining and about all different restaurant concepts,” Coleman said. “It comes down, really, to the brand’s specific price value equation. What is the guest getting versus what are they giving up?”
Carry-out and drive-thru sales have increased since the pandemic, with fewer customers sitting down to eat in restaurants.
Debtwire executive editor John Bringardner said that the restaurant industry was in a period of transition as older brands either adapt or fail in this new era of dining.
“When we talk about the fast-casual dining heydays being over, it’s really a certain type of restaurant that has been around for 20, 30, 40 years that many of us grew up with. And it’s normal for a lot of those chains to turn over, over time,” Bringardner explained. “Tastes change. And if a chain does not evolve with their customer base, then it’s not uncommon for them to step aside.”
More major changes in store for the restaurant industry
Debtwire predicted that Denny’s and Hooters would be the next national chains to declare bankruptcy.
Higher prices and the government response to the pandemic have changed the dining habits of Americans.
“They have a similar level of debt as Fridays. It’s a similar structure, and they suffer from many of the same issues. It’s a legacy brand that everyone knows, but they took a big hit during the pandemic,” Bringardner said. “They have new competitors, and they’ve not refreshed the brand in a way that gets people back into the restaurants.”
And continued rising costs for both food and labor are forcing restaurants to make some tough choices.
“We had accelerated costs for our supply chains and for our labor, as well as for many other things that service the restaurant. When faced with this, many brands had to choose different paths,” Coleman stated.
Coleman noted that how restaurants tackled rising costs has determined their fate.
“Some chose to absorb the cost for the short-term and positioned themselves better for the long-term. Some brands chose to innovate around these costs, and other brands chose to pass along these costs to the consumer,” Coleman explained. “And when you start to put that pressure on the consumer, they’re choosing with their feet, they’re voting which restaurant they’re going to go to based on their perception of the price-value equation.”
Bringardner also pointed out that some restaurants have simply never recovered from the damage of the government lockdowns and response to the pandemic.
“First, the pandemic forced restaurants to take on a tremendous amount of debt out of the blue just to survive, particularly sit-down restaurants that lost most or all of their business for months . . . That’s a tough blow for any kind of business,” Bringardner said. “But on top of that, the chains you’re seeing go under are those that never really recovered. Second, there seems to be particular trouble in the family restaurant or casual dining sector, and that’s a function of changing eating habits among Americans.”
The restaurant industry forever changed under Joe Biden’s failed Presidency.
And it will likely continue to get worse until a new Trump economy turns it around.