Chains of Command.

Restaurants & Institutions,  July, 2006  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

By Patricia B. Dailey, Editor-in-Chief

Counted one by one, simple mathematics shows vastly more independent restaurants in the United States than those that fall under the banner of large chain. Statistics from the National Restaurant Association indicate that seven of 10 are single-unit, independently owned operations, the fabled mom-and-pop shops that long ago set the foundation that today solidly supports the $511 billion foodservice industry.

But it's a ratio that doesn't reflect the disproportionate influence of chain operations. From nearly all perspectives, chain ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.