Hard times are on the menu at restaurants

The USA Today is all doom and gloom about the restaurant industry. I watched CNBC today and they are telling people to buy restaurant and food industry stock. So who is right? Is the restaurant industry in a downturn? Or, is the old adage that people will always need to eat more correct?

I think restaurants with good managers and good systems in place will experience some tension, but in the end the strong will be better off and the weak will have to adapt or move on.

From USA Today March 2, 2008

The restaurant industry has fallen, and it can't get up. To add insult: The worst may be yet to come.
Same-store sales are sliding. Commodity prices are climbing. Units are closing. Customers are dwindling. Some of the top names in all ends of dining are in pain, from Starbucks to Applebee's to The Cheesecake Factory.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-03-02-restaurant...