One-Third of U.S. Restaurants Face Permanent Closure This Year

A new forecast projects that one in three U.S. restaurants may close permanently this year, showing how the Covid-19 pandemic is decimating an industry that employs millions of Americans.

As many as 231,000 of the nation’s roughly 660,000 eateries will likely shut down this year, according to an estimate from restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates provided to Bloomberg News. This will bring the industry’s steady growth to a halt and mark the first time in two decades that U.S. restaurant counts don’t climb. Restaurants have already shed millions of jobs this year, economic data show.

In addition, Aaron Allen ...