Restaurant Week highlights the struggles facing North Texas eateries
As Restaurant Week – the hugely popular foodie fundraiser – gets underway across North Texas, industry experts are reminding diners that year‑round support for local restaurants remains critical as operators face rising costs and work to stay afloat.
"We talk to restaurant operators every day," said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. "It is so hard right now. And really, the risk is, they won't be here when you decide to dine out again."
The association represents thousands of restaurants statewide and says the economic landscape is increasingly complicated. Operators are confronting rising costs across the board.
"Labor cost is up double digits, food cost is up, credit card swipe fees are up, insurance is up. Anything you input… we can't even talk about beef, because it's up so much," Knight said. "You may see a big dining room that's packed, but it may not be profitable because they have so many costs they're trying to cover."
According to Knight, only about 60% of restaurants turned a profit last year – meaning roughly four in 10 did not. Competition is also intensifying.
"In the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone, we actually opened more new restaurants than any part of the country in June," Knight said. "And you have folks now coming from LA, Miami, Chicago, New York. Their next stop is Dallas for the first time, really, in recent history."
Still, with every new opening comes news of a closure. Reasons range from retirement and owner health challenges to rent increases that have more than doubled. Even without those pressures, experts say the environment remains difficult.
According to analysis from Restaurantdata.com, Texas led the nation in restaurant closures during the first six months of the year.
The message from industry advocates is clear: support your favorites now, or they may not be open when you try to visit them again.
"There's no doubt," Knight said. "The independent restaurant doesn't have the big ecosystem, the economies of scale, the supply chain that so many of our large chain operators do. And so you've got to get in there and support them."
The TRA is also urging lawmakers to acknowledge the economic connection between the immigrant workforce and rising food costs.
"You can't really talk about the cost of food without talking about the impact that the immigrant workforce has on that entire food supply," Knight said. "When that supply chain starts to be disrupted, that is where the cost comes in and gets more excessive.
"And so what we're really saying to lawmakers is: do the right thing, provide work permits for this population that is keeping food on the table and can help bring the price of food down."
