Which coffee chain just opened in a Walmart? Are there more or less restaurants than there were in 2019? Which company plans to implement a surcharge in response to tariffs? Answers to these questions and more This Week in Foodservice.

The restaurant industry reached a significant milestone in December of 2024 when the total number of restaurants in operation hit 856,394, per Datassential. What made this number so significant? It marks the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that the industry has more units in operation than it did in December 2019, when total locations came in at 848,911.

“Total openings have been greater than closings for the past year,” said Datassential’s Huy Do during an April webcast hosted by the Chicago-based market research firm. “Growth has not been as fast as it has been in the past, but things also have not been as turbulent.”

Not surprisingly, fast-casual and quick-service restaurants continue to lead the growth charge. In fact, those two segments reported significant sales increases in 2024, with QSRs realizing a 69% sales bump and fast-casual restaurants experiencing a 64% increase, per Datassential.

Looking ahead to 2025, operators still project sales growth but do so while acknowledging the potential impact of specific economic headwinds. Overall, 65% of operators forecast an increase in sales for 2025, per Datassential. That growth will come from a variety of sources, including attracting new customers (57%), increased check size (42%) and greater frequency of visits from regular customers (41%).

This growth mindset comes as the operators’ business environment is rife with challenges. For example, operators feel they have a large and diverse collection of competitors. Along those lines, 22% cite food at home as their main form of competition, followed by operators opening new locations (21%), ethnic chain restaurants (18%), existing restaurants (17%) and grocery store prepared food (8%), among others, per Datassential. Also, labor remains a top issue, with 54% of operators saying they have fewer staff than they did in 2019 and 88% saying they have been short-staffed in the past year. And 63% of operators remain concerned about the potential impact of tariffs on their businesses and 82% say they plan to raise prices to deal with the impact of tariffs, per Datassential.

Foodservice News

• The economic headwinds of 2024 took their toll on the top 500 restaurant chains, per data from Technomic. Sales among the top 500 chains increased to $437 billion in 2024. This represents a 3% increase from the previous year. That said, annual sales results for 55% of the top 500 chains fell short of the 4% foodservice inflation rate, showing how challenging of a year it was. 
• Ecolab plans to implement a 5% surcharge to customers in the U.S., effective May 1, 2025. “This surcharge is intended to mitigate the impact of rising raw material costs due to recent changes in international trade policies,” the Minnesota-based company said in a release. Ecolab added, “However, global tariffs greater than 10% and the 145% tariff placed on China are having broader impacts on the cost of some raw materials, packaging, and equipment. We cannot fully mitigate these increases, necessitating adjustments in our pricing. Because of the proactive actions we have taken in our supply chain, we are currently able to limit the price increase to 5% for our customers in the United States.”
• Drive-thru coffee chain 7-Brew opened a walk-thru location in an Arkansas Walmart, per a Restaurant Dive story. By opening in what is a non-traditional location for the chain, 7-Brew hopes to build brand awareness as it strives to become a national brand. Other chains have taken a similar approach working with Walmart, including Nozzleman Pizza, Mr. Gatti’s Pizza, Richtech Robotics and Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ.
• Chipotle’s international development plans will take the fast-casual chain to Mexico for the first time, per a company release. Alsea, S.A.B. de C.V. plans to open a Chipotle unit in Mexico during 2026, per a company release. Chipotle inked its first international development agreement in 2023 and now has units in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.

Economic News

• The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. declined 0.7% in March 2025 for a reading of 100.5. The LEI also declined 1.2% for the six-month period ending in March. This was a smaller rate of decline than the previous six month period, during which the LEI dipped 2.3%. While these declines point to slowing economic activity in the coming months, they do not suggest a recession has begun or is about to start, per a spokesperson from The Conference Board, which lowered its U.S. GDP forecast to 1.6% for the year.
• March U.S. retail sales increased 1.4% compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales were also up 4.6% compared to March of 2024. Retail sales for the first quarter of 2025 increased 4.1% compared to the same period in 2024. Compared to the same period in 2024, sales at eating and drinking places increased 2.8% during the first quarter of 2025.
• The economic impact of the Trump Administration’s trade war has the potential to impact multiple major markets throughout the world, per the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has cut its forecast for global GDP growth to 2.8% for 2025, which is 0.5% less than its original projection, as reported by The Guardian. Its forecasts show every major economy being hit, with the U.K. expected to grow by 1.1% this year, down from 1.6% predicted in January. The IMF expects a sharper deterioration for the US, from 2.7% to 1.8%.
• Industrial production decreased 0.3% in March but increased at an annual rate of 5.5% in the first quarter, per data from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed attributes the March decline, in part, to a 5.8% drop in the index for utilities due to warmer than usual temperatures for the month. The indexes for manufacturing and mining grew 0.3% and 0.6%. At 103.9% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in March was 1.3% greater than its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization stepped down to 77.8%, a rate that is 1.8 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2024) average.
• Housing permits and starts were a mixed bag in March. Permits for privately held housing units increased 1.6% in March compared to the previous month, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Privately owned housing starts in March declined 11.4% compared to February.
• Initial jobless claims declined by 9,000 for a total of 215,000 for the week-ending April 12, 2025, per the U.S. Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average was 220,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week.