Tax Rebates Unlikely to Help Restaurants

(MoneyWatch)  The tax rebate checks being mailed out by the federal government won't do much for the restaurant industry, according to a survey by Technomic. The foodservice research outfit found that about 10 percent of consumers plan to use their checks to indulge in a night out at a nice restaurant, but just 3 percent plan to make a habit of dining out. Mostly, consumers plan to put the money in the bank, use it to buy groceries, or pay off credit card debt.

Another researcher, NPD Group, is more hopeful, but it is basing that hope on an earlier rebate during an economic downturn, according to Nation's Restaurant News. In 2001, NPD says, restaurant traffic increased "markedly," as Nation's Restaurant News vaguely put it. Of course, in 2001, food costs weren't soaring through the roof as they are now, along with most other household expenses.

Just below that article, which topped the Nation's Restaurant News homepage, was another one reporting that Landry's Restaurants saw its profits plummet by 93 percent in the first quarter on flat sales.

Also, California Pizza Kitchen reported a 30 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings, thanks to higher food costs. Still, same-store sales eked out a slight gain of 0.4 percent, and total revenues were up by more than 10 percent.