Recession takes toll on restaurants

New York City The total number of restaurant locations in the United States fell during the past year, with the recession taking a toll on smaller chains and independents, according to research by The NPD Group. However, the largest chains, which NPD classifies as those with more than 500 units, posted unit growth in all segments except family dining, where growth remained flat.

Among the largest chains, the number of total restaurant locations rose 1%, reflecting a 1% uptick in quick-service locations and a 2% increase in casual-dining restaurants.

According to the latest NPD Group ReCount, which tallies all commercial restaurant locations in the United States, the number of restaurants fell 1% this spring to 577,178 locations. A little more than 4,000 restaurants were closed from a year ago, when the United States boasted 581,201 restaurants, according to NPD research. The latest data was collected from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009.

The hardest-hit categories were fine-dining independents, which saw unit counts fall 7%. Smaller family-dining chains were close behind, with a 6% drop in locations among chains of between 50 and 99 units and a 5% drop in locations among chains that numbered between 100 and 499 locations.