i haven't noticed because i haven't been out to eat lately.

i live in NYC and to be honest, the places that i see are no less busy than usual. i think that i'm in a bubble though cause the way that the economy is here isn't really representative on any other city out there.

Yeah some of them and I also noticed that the big mall near me is less busy now too. It will probably be busier now that it's the holiday season.

we rarely go out, but now when we do we get a booth as soon as we walk in.

I looove eating out but simply can't do it as often anymore

We have seriously only eaten out 5 times this whole year. They were special occasions. I honestly didn't notice a slow down though. But I'm sure if I was still working at a restaurant I would definitely be hurting.

I know I don't eat out as often any more. There is a restaurant in my hometown that is always filled to capacity (seats 500)... now, they've closed off half the restaurant. The owner says he doesn't know how much longer he'll be able to keep going because some night there are only 5-10 families coming in and then he throws hundreds of dollars of food away. (Of course I told him to donate it to someone instead of throwing it away, but that's not the point.) I live in a small town... I've definitely seen the change.

I was out doing channel checking the other day and the mid-end retailers in my region were giving anecdotal evidence of inexplicable hit-and-miss days during the past couple weeks. There's a good amount of rainy days, and people showed up. A set of beautiful days didn't bring consistent business. I really want to attribute consumers' sentiment based on daily news headlines and what stories are being told amongst peers.

i looove eating out!!! unfortunatelly it's soo expensive. my boyfriend and i have been eating out quite a bit lately. last night we had the conversation that we ned to stop going out.
but... the reason i know for sure that restaurants are really really slow is because my boyfriend works part time in one. Red Lobster... it's absolutely dead!!!( and it's in a good area). He used to make really good money in tips and now he ends up being sent home like 2 hours into his shifts sometimes.. it's that bad!

We barely ever eat out and when we DO eat out, it's usually Chinese takeout. So we don't usually go into the restaurants to notice how busy they are (or aren't). There are a few places in town though that are usually packed at certain times of the day that are no longer quite as packed.

Anyone else notice that a lot of restaurants are offering more and more coupons/special deals to try and get new patrons?

GOD YES

I live in a foodie city as well and have many near my house and have noticed. I feel bad for friends that work in the industry. Its sad! This is usually a busy time of year for them!!

Yeah, I've noticed that.

The restaurant industry workers are suffering for it. In the state of Oregon alone, 3000 restaurant workers have lost their job.

Honestly, I live in SF too and have been surprised that there seems to be no downturn to the numbers of people eating out. I guess Savvy and I area just visiting different restaurants...

Now retail stores? Definitely seen way lesser patrons there.

Yep, just last night...

I have numerous waiter friends and their paychecks certainly prove that times are slower.

I have not noticed any change....well in the resturants i go to anyways.....they r always stuffed to the brink always

I eat out quite frequently. Before, I had to make reservations all the time to be on the safe side. Nowadays, I just walk in, and a lot of times, there are tables available or I only need to wait for 10 minutes or so - even at some restaurants that used to be really crazy during the weekends.

Had lunch at a Thai restaurant Friday. Usually, they are 100% full. That day, barely half-full. PLUS, our portions were smaller and cost more. Boo!

Yes. I'm a waiter, and I'm really feeling it.

I feel bad for everyone in the industry a lot of our restaurants have closed also....

I've definitely noticed a slow-down in our local restaurant industry. A lot of new restaurants opened up when the economy was on the up and up. Now they're empty on a Saturday night. It's terrible.

I've been on a kick lately in the past few years where I'm making an effort to prepare more foods at home. Instead, lately, I've been going out to eat more often because I want to see some of our great locally-owned restaurants (that people have poured their life savings into!) stay open.

Yep.

I've noticed that restaurants are less crowded and fast food spots are more crowded. I went to chipotle last night and the line was damn near out the door and I only spent $6.20 for a chicken bol and had 1/2 of it left.

I used to eat out quite a bit, especially at lunch.

We don't so much these days, partly due to our work hours..in general we try to go to a proper restaurant a couple of times a month and might order pizza, takeaway curry or kebabs once a week when I don't feel like cooking.

Saying that, I haven't seen a huge change..yet.

It also makes me realize, how maybe my fallback plan of being a waitress if I ever get layed off or fired wouldnt work right now because they're prob not hiring and I prob wouldnt make any money! Ah!

I eat out quite a bit, and I haven't noticed it until now that it's mentioned. Where I live Bennigan's used to be very busy, but now, they've closed down. But most of the other restaurants seem to be busy though.