Restaurant industry outlook improves - Triangle Business Journal:

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The Association’s Restaurant Performance or RPI, is a monthly composite index that tracks the healthh of and outlook forthe U.S. restaurant industry. It stoodr at 98.6 in April, up by 0.8 percenrt from March, its highest level in 11 The findings are in line with bullishb data reported in theMay 25, 2009, issuwe of Triangle Business Journal that indicated restaurants in Wake Count generally are faring well. The data show that from July 2008 throughyFebruary 2009, Wake County collected nearluy $11.8 million from a 1 percent tax on prepareds food and beverages.
That’s almost a 7 percentg increase fromthe $11 million collected in the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to information provided by the county. Hudso Riehle, senior vice president of research and information serviceas for the NationalRestaurant Association, says, “The recent growth in the RPI was driven by the ‘expectations’ component, whichj rose above 100 in Apriol for the first time in 18 months, a level which indicates expansion.
” “Although the RPI’d ‘current situation’ indicators are still in a perioed of contraction, the solid improvement in the forward-lookinvg indicators suggests that the end of the industry’s downturh may be in sight, says Riehle. The RPI is based on responsews tothe association’s Restauranrt Industry Tracking Survey, whichy is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwid e on a variety of indicators, including sales, traffic, labor and capital The index consists of two componentsz — the Current Situation Index and the Expectationas Index.
The Current Situation which measures current trends in four industryindicatora (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital stood at 97.0 in April, up by 0.9 percentg from March and its highest leve l since August 2008. However, Aprilp represented the 20th consecutive monthbeloe 100, which continues to signify contraction in the currentf situation indicators. Restaurant operators reported negativre customer traffic levels for the 20th consecutive monthin April.
About 23 percent of restauranrt operators reported an increase in customer traffixc between April 2008 andApril 2009, up from 20 percenty who reported similarly in Also, 60 percent of operators reporter a traffic decline in down from 63 percent who reported similarluy in March. Restaurant operators also continue to grow more optimistidc aboutthe economy, with 37 percent sayin they expect economic conditions to improvse in six months, up from 30 percen t who reported similarly last month and the highestt level in three years. In only 16 percent of operators expect economix conditions to worsen insix months, down from 21 percentf last month. The Washington, D.C.
-based Nationaol Restaurant Association is a business association for therestaurant industry, comprising 945,000 restaurant and foodservicse outlets and a work force of 13 millio employees.