The restaurant industry faces mounting challenges as fewer Americans dine out. Higher costs for owners are colliding with declining foot traffic, forcing closures or cutbacks nationwide and leaving workers unemployed heading into the holidays.

“Restaurants are tough even in the best of times,” said Derek Kitchen, owner of Laziz Kitchen in Salt Lake City.

For Kitchen, this year has been particularly brutal. Inflation and tariffs have forced him to close two of his three locations.

“The inflation itself really took a lot out of us, and then tariffs kind of brought us to our knees, to be honest with you,” Kitchen said.

A recent study from YouGov found that 37 percent of Americans are eating out less frequently than a year ago as menu prices have risen.

The financial strain on households

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