This weekend brought Hurricane Irene across the Eastern seaboard, and while the storm’s force did not reach what many had expected, numerous evacuations and severe flooding was still present, leaving both analysts and the National Restaurant Association to begin assessing affects on restaurants.
The hurricane hit a 10-state swath from the North Carolina coast to New England, canceling air travel, shutting down public transportation and keeping many people indoors and many businesses closed for days.
“Early in our analysis of the weekend’s impact of Hurricane Irene, we believe several key restaurant markets were impacted either directly — stores closed due to mandatory evacuations, flooding, power outages — or indirectly — stores open, but light restaurant traffic due to ‘CNN effect,’ redirected travel plans, etc.,” Brad Ludington, a restaurant securities analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said in a report Monday.
“We believe restaurants from North Carolina to the Northeast will lose a minimum of the equivalent of one day of weekend sales,” he said.
Within Ludington’s coverage universe, he cited Maryville, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday Inc. as one company most likely hit hard as 38 percent of the companies’ locations are located in affected areas.
Others restaurant chains cited include The Cheesecake Factory, Papa John’s, Brinker International concepts and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
EARLIER: Hurricane Irene’s potential effects on restaurants in its path
The National Restaurant Association on Monday expressed its sympathies to those who suffered from the hurricane and applauded federal, state and local authorities for their preparedness. But the Washington, D.C.-based association also encouraged the media to report on businesses that are open and asked consumers to keep their Labor Day plans for travel and dining out.
The NRA said it understood some of its members may be left with soft sales even after a weaker-than-expected storm hit the East Coast.
“We … recognize the frustration of some restaurant communities that were not heavily impacted by Irene, but were evacuated or closed in anticipation of projected damage,” NRA president and chief executive Dawn Sweeney said in a statement. “It is not entirely possible to predict where a storm of Irene’s size will cause the most damage, and while we applaud the caution shown that undoubtedly saved lives, we sympathize with those where losses will be primarily financial.”
Sweeny encouraged travelers to maintain their summer holiday plans and visit restaurants, especially those on the East Coast that may have been shut down last weekend.
“New National Restaurant Association research indicates that 35 [percent] of consumers nationwide plan to dine out or get take-out or delivery from a restaurant for Labor Day,” she said. “As the summer of 2011 draws to a close, we hope all restaurant operators will have a record-breaking weekend.”
