Glass half-full?

One sacrifice? Restaurant meals are out.

The irony isn't lost on the Marshalls, who own Marshall's in Grandview Heights and the Cook Shack BBQ. "As an owner, you learn to make cuts, not only to your business but to your home life, as well," Shannon Marshall said.

They've cut back on charitable donations and sponsorships, and they've cut their advertising budget, trying to find ways to advertise without cost. They've added menu items and lunch specials and promotions to lure new customers, Matt Marshall said.

"I think most people in the industry are thinking the same thing. (This year) it's gonna be less about trends and more about what people want for the long term."

Although the Marshalls have had more setbacks than most - they closed one of their restaurants in the spring after a violent robbery, losing their investment - in many ways, they speak for their peers in saying that a ray of light has appeared.

"We started to feel the pressure lighten a bit in November," Shannon Marshall said. "People were not only out shopping for the holidays, they were also taking the time to come in and sit down to eat."

Others are also starting to see signs of life.

"We have had a bit of an up-and-down year," said Kamal Boulos, owner of the Refectory, "but overall, there are very positive signs that things seem to be on the upswing."

For example, holiday parties and catering - which cratered in 2008 and 2009 as many companies cut back - finally began to rebound this year, he said.

The start of 2011 might bring the dawn of a more lucrative day, one that so many independent restaurant owners have been waiting for.

About 27 percent of Americans plan to spend more money eating out in the next 90 days, according to a recent survey by RBC Capital Management. The average check of each guest is also projected to rise by about 3percent. Restaurant sales are expected to grow 1.6percent in 2011, compared with the anemic 0.1 percent of 2010, says the Chicago-based research firm Technomic.

Yet central Ohio restaurant owners are not ready to jump for joy.

"I should be off-the-charts optimistic about 2011, but I'm not," said Diane Warren, owner of Katzinger's Deli. The deli had a banner year in 2010 in many respects: It logged its best four months in sales ever and, in every month but February, sales outpaced those of the year before.

But it wasn't all rosy.

"Costs began edging up at the end of 2010, and the 2011 predictions for food and other costs are not pretty," she said. "In the end, good sales do not a profit make."

And it pays to keep any improvements logged last year in perspective.

"We have to remember 2010 restaurant sales increased, but only compared to 2009, which was probably the worst year restaurants have ever had," said restaurant consultant Randy Sokol. "Sales are not even equal or above 2008 or 2007 levels."

The NPD Group, a market-research firm, said restaurant traffic in the third quarter held steady compared with the same period in 2009 but was still 4 percent below 2008 levels.

"2010 was a tough and challenging year, and 2011 is going to be more of the same," Sokol said.

James Housteau, owner of the Junto Club and the Short Story Brasserie in Granville, says he is by nature a "very optimistic person. Otherwise I could not be an entrepreneur."

But he found last year difficult and expects the same this year.

Early in 2010, he closed his wine shop in Granville in the face of sharply declining sales and transformed it into the Junto Club to steady the company's revenue.

"It was a brutal year," he said. "Competition has gotten tougher as everyone is fighting to survive.

"My belief is that 2011 will be the same or harder. In this economy, success seems to be not losing it.

"People will eat out but, as an entrepreneur, you have to ask if you're baiting the right hook, or are you hanging on to a business model that was steamrolled in the great recession?"

Despite signs of some economic recovery, persistently high unemployment rates coupled with job insecurity make people hold on more tightly to their discretionary income, Technomic says. Those are the same dollars that restaurant owners need people to spend eating out.

Add in the razor-thin margins in the restaurant business, and it's no wonder they're hoping for, but not counting on, a good year.

"The margin for small restaurants is very lean," said Katharine Moore, executive director of Dine Originals Columbus. "One broken dishwasher can erase a week's profits."

"Everyone wants the economy to improve, but the recovery will come slowly and steadily," said Ray Smith, spokesman for Hoggy's. "Although the leading economic indicators started to trend upward in 2010, it takes some time for a recovery to manifest itself in the full-service restaurant segment."

The Columbus-based barbecue chain hedged against shrinking consumer restaurant spending by introducing menu items and by giving every day of the week its own theme. For example, kids eat free on Wednesdays, and there's free live music on Thursdays.

People will eat out more, and restaurants will fare better eventually, Smith said, "as long as the economy makes a steady recovery, and we see a continued decrease in the unemployment rate."