Dining Chains Get Hit by Consumer Pain: Credit Weekly (Correct)

Rising housing costs and stubbornly high inflation are battering many consumers and the hit to their wallets is now hurting America’s low-cost restaurants.

Chains including Red Lobster, which is considering a bankruptcy filing, and TGI Friday’s Inc. are becoming even more distressed as their labor expenses increase and more diners opt to eat at home. The reliance of a chunk of the restaurant industry on lower-income households means their customer base has been disproportionately impacted by rising prices, analysts from the analytics unit of Moody’s Corp.’s wrote last week.

Chains relying on that demographic “are feeling it the most,” ...