Traffic Falls, But Canadian Unit Counts Grow Nearly 1%

Something to chew on: While nearly all the recent losses in net restaurant counts in the United States have been among independent operators, growth last year in Canadian restaurant counts actually came from independents. According to data from The NPD Group’s annual ReCount census, Canada’s independent operators, which account for 63.8% of the country’s 72,721 total units, made up all the unit growth in 2010: 512 net units. Chains actually declined by 72 net units in Canada last year.

In the United States, by contrast, nearly all recent losses have been among independent operators, which control 53.8% of the total 574,050 units. Quick service is also slightly more dominant in the United States, totaling 52.8% of all units (compared with 49.2% in Canada). U.S. net unit counts fell 2% in the year ended March this year, NPD earlier reported. The number of quick-serve restaurants held steady in ’10 in Canada, casual dining restaurants lost 2% of their units and midscale restaurant counts fell 5%, the research group reported.

“This year’s ReCount is a true reflection of what is happening in Canada’s foodservice industry overall,” said Robert Carter, NPD executive director for Canada.