The State of Full Service Restaurants

Seventy-four percent  of full service restaurants (FSRs)  managed to maintain or increase their sales during the pandemic; however, profit margins in 2021 declined to 10 percent, compared to 12 percent in 2019, according to third annual State of Full Service Restaurants Report released by TouchBistro.

Additional findings inlcude increased inventory costs caused the greatest financial strain for operators in 2021 with 33 percent citing it as their top expense, followed closely by rent (30 percent) and labor (30 percent). Many operators also noted that the cost of implementing new health and safety measures – such as providing PPE for staff and upgrading their HVAC systems – was another major expense that wiped out any revenue gains in 2021.

“From social distancing measures to the rise of QR code menus, the way operators must now run restaurants has significantly changed since the onset of the pandemic,” says Samir Zabaneh, CEO of TouchBistro. “While our findings…