How do you make a small fortune? Start big and open a restaurant.
The difficulties of running an American restaurant, whether selling hot dogs or haute cuisine, are well known, yet hope continues to triumph over experience. In a country full of chains, the NPD Group estimates that about 53% of restaurants are still independent, despite their high failure rates—especially in the first year. The pandemic hit restaurateurs even harder: Nearly 10% of independent restaurants closed in 2020, compared to just 2.5% of chain-owned ones, according to data from Morgan Stanley and Euromonitor.