If restaurant traffic remains low . . .
This question would be better posed in terms of how long will traffic remain low.
Think back to when Jack In The Box killed some folks with e coli. How long did it take for sales to recover? I don’t recall, but I will tell you that I personally have never eaten at another JITB. Anyone remember Chili’s? I guess they’re still in business, but all the shops in my area are gone.
I drove by my local CMG shop the other day around lunch time. Previous to the contaminated food problems you could not find a place to park and there were long lines waiting to get food. And then you had to wait for a table. Now, the shop is half vacant, easy parking, no lines.
Ouch, it’s just one shop, but that can’t be good for business. The longer it takes for them to recover, the less likely it is that they will ever recover the same momentum they once had, or even survive.
The restaurant business is fraught with danger. Some time ago I violated my better judgment by buying a restaurant stock (I owned CMG). Made some good money with them, but bailed, fortunately, long before the current storm. I owned SBUX as well. Made good money there too, but did not really consider it a restaurant company until they started to sell a lot of food other than pastries. I think the business holds too many risks that can come out of no where with devastating effect.