Restaurant Industry Set To Grow in 2025

Restaurant industry sales will continue to grow in 2025, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry report. Specifically, the industry is expected to reach $1.5 trillion in sales, up from the forecasted $1.1 trillion in 2024.

“The fundamentals of the restaurant industry are strong, and operators are optimistic about the year ahead,” says Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, in a release. “Industry sales are expected grow more than four percent this year, and employment should reach nearly 16 million jobs. That growth will come from restaurant operators finding the balance of value and experience for consumers, and innovating breakthrough efficiency in their operations.”

The report listed what operators can expect, from consumer demands to industry challenges, in the year ahead. Key findings include the following:

• While restaurant operators are cautiously optimistic about business conditions, competition will remain strong. More than eight in 10 operators expect their 2025 sales to be either higher or about the same as 2024. At the same time, operators expect competitive pressures to intensify in 2025.
• As far as employment opportunities, in 2025 the industry will add about 200,000 new jobs, bringing the total workforce to 15.9 million employees. The industry is one of the nation’s largest private-sector employers. The report notes that more teens and young adults are joining the workforce. Together, they make up four in 10 people in the industry workforce.
• Consumers have pent-up demand for restaurant meals and would use restaurants more frequently if they had the money. And that sentiment goes for many segments, from table-service restaurants to QSRs to delivery. In the year ahead, operators, especially those in fine- and casual-dining, will focus on attracting more in-person diners. One unique way to keep consumers coming back is to provide more experiences, such as tasting events, private dinner events with a chef and cooking classes at a restaurant.
• Challenges will remain much the same for operators in 2025. Rising labor and food costs, along with the ongoing struggle of recruiting and retaining employees, rank among the top concerns for full-service and limited-service operators.

“Nine out of 10 people enjoy going to restaurants, and restaurant operators understand what it takes to keep that experience positive,” says Korsmo. “Operators are adapting to meet today’s consumers’ wants and needs with an eye to economic pressures, regulatory changes and rising food and labor costs.”

For a look at the state of the foodservice industry, see FER’s “2025 State of the Foodservice Industry.”