U.S. Restaurant Landscape: Key Numbers and Trends

As of August 1, 2024, there are 786,206 restaurants operating in the United States. New openings are running at a steady pace of 550–650 new locations per week, while closure data from major online platforms shows no significant acceleration in closures compared to prior periods.

📊 Data as of August 1, 2024. Opening counts are sourced from weekly legal filing analysis by Restaurantdata.com. Closure data sourced from reviews of Yelp, Google Maps, OpenTable, and TripAdvisor. See also: 4.5 Years of New Restaurant Opening Trends →

New Restaurant Openings

A steady pace of 550–650 new restaurant locations are opening each week across the U.S. This represents a meaningful increase from the 500+ weekly average seen in 2023, reflecting continued recovery and expansion in the foodservice market.

Chain vs. Independent Openings: A notable shift has occurred in the composition of new openings since the pandemic:

• Only about 10–12% of new openings are chain restaurants — a significant decrease from pre-pandemic levels
• Pre-pandemic, chains accounted for 25–33% of all new restaurant locations
• Independent operators now represent the large majority of new openings, reflecting the post-pandemic entrepreneurial surge in the foodservice sector

Restaurant Closures — First Half of 2024

While anecdotal reports have suggested an increase in restaurant closures, reviews of major online platforms — including Yelp, Google Maps, OpenTable, and TripAdvisor — show no significant change in closure rates compared to prior periods.

The first six months of 2024 saw a total of 15,977 restaurant closures across the U.S.:

* Chain vs. Independent breakdown applies to the full H1 2024 total. Q1/Q2 chain vs. independent split not separately available. Source: Restaurantdata.com analysis of Yelp, Google Maps, OpenTable, and TripAdvisor data.

Key Observations

Independents dominate both openings and closures. Since the pandemic, independent restaurants are opening at a higher rate than chains — but they also account for the majority of closures. Of the 15,977 closures in H1 2024, 83% were independent establishments (13,265) vs. 17% chain restaurants (2,712).

Chain share of new openings has collapsed post-pandemic. The drop from 25–33% chain openings to just 10–12% is one of the most significant structural shifts in the U.S. restaurant market since 2020. This reflects both the surge in independent entrepreneurship and the more cautious, disciplined expansion strategies now being employed by major chains.

Q2 saw more closures than Q1. The April–June period saw 8,956 closures vs. 7,021 in January–March — a 27% increase quarter-over-quarter. This seasonal pattern is consistent with prior years, as operators who survived the slower winter months often close before or after the summer season.