Delta variant likely to hurt US restaurant recovery

The spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 threatens the fragile recovery of U.S. restaurants, according to a report on Tuesday from the National Restaurant Association.

Nearly one in five adults surveyed online from August 13-15 said they stopped going to restaurants as Delta cases rose, the report said.

Total annual sales at US restaurants are expected to rise 19.7 per cent from 2020 to $789 billion in 2021. But that will still be 8.7 per cent lower than 2019’s $864.3 billion total sales, the report said.

“There has been some back-off as the Delta variant has taken hold,” Hudson Riehle, a National Restaurant Association executive, said of consumer behavior.

Average daily US Covid cases rose to 466 people per million people as of Aug. 29 on a seven-day rolling average, versus fewer than 40 in mid-June, according to Our World in Data.

The rise and continuing uncertainty have forced the cancellation of major events and could hamper tourism. US restaurants - hurt last year by occupancy limits and public fear about dining out - stand to lose more business if tourism wanes.