A new study from the University of Cincinnati examined more than 15 years of restaurant openings and closures across Cincinnati. The study found that roughly 60% of independently owned restaurants that operated in Cincinnati between 2008 and 2023 eventually closed.

External Factors Contribute to Closures

Doctoral student Hannah Dahlke analyzed more than 2,200 independently owned restaurants and found that density and crime are the two factors that can best explain restaurant closures. Neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine, downtown Cincinnati, and the CUF area had both high concentrations of restaurants and high numbers of closures.

University of Cincinnati economics professor David Brasington says today’s economy is making an already difficult business even harder. Labor costs have risen dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, while inflation, higher food prices, and elevated interest rates have continued to squeeze already thin restaurant profit margins.

James Stephenson, owner of Bard’s Burgers and Chili in Latonia, has watched these challenges unfold in real time. He says when household budgets tighten, dining out is often one of the first expenses families cut.

Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.