Abstract
With annual sales exceeding $376 billion, the food service industry is the largest retail industry in the United States. The industry employs over 11 million people in more than 830,000 food service establishments and, on a typical day, almost one-half of all adults are food services patrons. The typical restaurant is really a small business. Consider the following statistics from the National Restaurant Association: More than seven of ten restaurants had fewer than 20 paid employees in 2003; nearly three of four quick service operators have recently hired an employee who was a former welfare recipient; Average unit sales in 2003 were $550,000 at full-service restaurants and $517,000 at limited-service (fast-food) restaurants; Forty-five percent of all restaurants are either sole proprietorships or partnerships; Three of four restaurants are single-unit operations; One-third of all adults have worked in the food service industry at some point in their lives. It is difficult to say how many business start-ups, let alone restaurants, actually survive. A number of studies reveal a wide variety of statistics and most deal with small businesses in general.
