Inspiration from the $1.1 trillion restaurant industry

Motivation from the $1.1 trillion restaurant industry

This year the U.S. restaurant industry is expecting its biggest year in sales — $1.106 trillion by the end of December, per National Restaurant Association estimates. That's up $57 billion trillion from last year and $185 billion from 2019.

An industry hit by the COVID pandemic, restaurants have not only recovered but now exceed pre-pandemic sales levels while continuing to grow.

Whether or not you eat many meals in restaurants, here are 3 ways to use the industry’s growth as motivation:

Enduring hard times tends to pay off: Many restaurants shut down during the COVID pandemic. The ones that endured are now receiving the benefits of an industry-wide rising tide. Just like the restaurants that endured COVID probably didn’t enjoy the pandemic, we don’t always need to enjoy the hard times. Sometimes we simply need to endure them to reach the opportunity on the other side.

Recoveries don’t happen overnight: For the restaurant industry, 2020 and 2021 were both down years. It wasn’t until 2022 that the industry’s sales exceeded 2019 levels. When things go sideways, don’t expect everything to return to normal overnight. Instead, be patient and focus on making progress everyday. Recoveries tend to take time.

Change is required for growth: Restaurants continue to grow by seeking to new ways to innovate. They leverage delivery apps like UberEats and DoorDash to sell more food to customers who don’t dine in and are beginning to use AI to streamline operations. Just like restaurants are changing to fuel growth, we must be willing to leave behind the old version of ourselves to become the future version of ourselves that we want to be.

Thanks to everyone involved in the restaurant industry’s recovery. Let’s have a great week!