What is behind restaurant closures throughout Pittsburgh and America

On Friday, July 26th, Cadillac Ranch, located in central Pittsburgh, was filled with customers, bringing an influx of value and monetary compensation to the company.

The next day, the restaurant’s sign was down, and a sign on the door indicated that the restaurant had closed for good.

Unfortunately, Cadillac Ranch isn’t alone. Spork Pitt BBQ, Buca di Beppo, Uno Pizzeria, Rock Bottom, and many other restaurants in the Pittsburgh area have shut down locations within the past two years.

Several restaurant chains, such as TGI Fridays, Outback Steakhouse, and Applebee’s, have closed underperforming locations nationwide. One notable example is the popular seafood chain Red Lobster, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing traffic declines, inconsistent sales, and dwindling cash as key reasons behind their decision.

With many restaurant chains deciding to close certain establishments or go out of business altogether, many wonder why they are being forced to make these decisions. Stretto CEO Jonathan Carson stated in the FOX Business article “Why are so many restaurant chains filing for bankruptcy this year?” that many factors contribute to this situation.“In this situation, a challenging economic environment, post-pandemic recovery issues, rising labor costs, changing consumer habits and inflation have caused more restaurants to struggle in 2024” states Carson in the article.

As it turns out, no one is immune from the restaurant shutdown surge either, as several eateries in South Florida, one of the nation’s fastest growing population centers, are also being forced to shut their doors as well, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Personally, I feel that fewer people and families are choosing to go out. Many are on a tight budget, and have to sacrifice a night at their favorite restaurant, in order to put gas in the car for the upcoming week As stated by NewsNation, “According to the Federal Reserve, restaurant prices rose 0.6% last month.”

With costs high, and showing no signs of coming down, many more restaurants are likely to shut their doors, creating unfortunate consequences for workers and managers at those establishments. According to the Banking Rates article “6 Reasons the Middle Class Can’t Afford To Dine Out Anymore,” writer Andrew Lisa believes that “the fact that there is less discretionary cash to go around, Americans overspending on eating out for far too long, inflation making it more expensive to be a restauranteur, restaurants raising prices to cope with rising prices, more restaurants adding surcharges to make up for lost dollars, and the rise in tip jars and kiosk prompts everywhere are all major reasons for restaurant closures throughout the country.”