December 15, 2003
Contact: Katharine Kim 202-331-5939, Media Relations 202-973-3677

(Washington, DC) Underscoring the importance of restaurants to the nation's economy, the National Restaurant Association simultaneously unveiled the 2004 Restaurant Industry Forecast and its national public policy agenda for the coming year during a press conference held today at the National Press Club. According to the Association's 2004 Forecast, the restaurant-and-foodservice industry remains strong and is projected to reach a record $440.1 billion in sales next year.

"Restaurants serve as an important and essential component to the American lifestyle, as well as the cornerstone of the national economy. As that role evolves, restaurants will continue to grow," said Steven C. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association. "With sales expected to reach over $440 billion in the coming year – equal to
4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) – 2004 will be the 13th consecutive year of real growth for the restaurant industry."

With an improving economic outlook for the coming year, the National Restaurant Association's mission – to represent, educate and promote the restaurant industry – means fostering an environment in which restaurants can prosper, grow and continue to create jobs for millions of Americans. Lee Culpepper, senior vice president of Government Affairs and Public Policy, today outlined the Association's pro-employee/pro-employer public policy agenda, emphasizing the importance of restaurants to the economic health of the nation and how their continued success is a harbinger of the entire national economy.

The National Restaurant Association's legislative priorities for 2004 include: restaurant building depreciation, overtime clarification; enacting litigation reform; making tax cuts permanent, including the death tax repeal; passage of Association Health Plans (AHPs), increasing the business meal deduction; immigration reform; and opposing mandated entry-level wage hikes.

"In an increasingly service-oriented economy, the restaurant industry's success is now more directly linked to the nation's overall economic health than ever before. Restaurants generate an economic impact of over $1.2 trillion, directly affecting sales in related industries such as agriculture, transportation and manufacturing," said Culpepper. "The restaurant industry will employ 12 million Americans in 2004 and is comprised in large part – approximately 70 percent – by small business owners. It is those small businesses that are driving the economy and creating new jobs around the country, truly making restaurants cornerstones of the economy, career and employment opportunities and their local communities."

In its 34th year, the National Restaurant Association's 2004 Restaurant Industry Forecast provides an annual projection for the restaurant-and-foodservice industry as a whole and among a variety of industry segments. The Association defines the restaurant-and-foodservice industry as that which includes all meals and snacks freshly prepared away from home, including takeout meals and beverages.

"The more positive economic environment as well as gains in real disposable personal income for 2004 will continue to be the catalysts driving sales up 4.4 percent over this year and will propel the restaurant industry into yet another year of real growth," said Hudson Riehle, the Association's senior vice president of Research and Information Services. "On a typical day in 2004, the restaurant industry will post average sales of over $1.2 billion."