2005 restaurant sales could jump 5% (2/2)

Limited-service, or quickservice, restaurants are projected to register sales of $134.2 billion in 2005, a gain of 4.7 percent over 2004. Consumer demand for convenience and value will continue to drive growth for this segment, while operators face stiffer competition from grocery and convenience stores. Both tableservice and quickservice restaurants will benefit from continued rebounds in international and domestic travel and tourism, which are projected to rebound to pre-9/11 volume levels. Perspective from Across the Country Economic growth is expected in all nine U.S. regions, with all regions also projecting job growth in 2005. The five top regions in terms of sales growth remain in the South and the West. These regions continue to have the fastest growth in local economies, disposable income and population. Specifically, the Mountain region will again lead the nation with a projected sales growth of 6.5 percent. The state posting the highest restaurant-sales volume in 2005 will be California, with projected restaurant sales of $51.5 billion. Legislative outlook "With restaurant-industry sales equal to four percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, we are the largest private-sector employer in the U.S. We are poised to remain strong and will continue to grow if key opinion leaders realize the challenges of small business owners running a restaurant and can support the Association's pro-employee/pro-employer public policy agenda," said Lee Culpepper, senior vice president of Government Affairs and Public Policy. Culpepper outlined the importance of restaurants to the economic health of the nation, emphasizing several legislative priorities for 2005 including: restaurant building depreciation, litigation reform, immigration reform, health care affordability and nutrition issues. "These are key issues that dramatically impact small businesses - the driving force of our industry and our nation's economy,?¨ said Culpepper. About the National Restaurant Association The National Restaurant Association (NRA), founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 900,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 12.2 million employees - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, or to order a complete copy of the 2005 forecast, visit the NRA Web site at www.restaurant.org (Source: www.restaurant.org. ) See print version of Asian Restaurant News for detail of NRA Forecast Report.