"Each and every day, the restaurant industry earns the respect of the American people by providing more than 70 billion meal and snack occasions this year alone," said Steven C. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association. "The National Restaurant Association tells the story that restaurants are the cornerstone of the nation's economy by having a $1.2 trillion impact on the nation's economy; the cornerstone of the local community, with nine out of 10 restaurants involved in charitable activities; and the cornerstone of career opportunities, providing 12.2 million employment opportunities in 2005."
Fifty-eight percent of Americans had a positive attitude toward the restaurant industry, 8 percent had a negative attitude, and 31 percent were neutral toward the industry, for a net image of +50 percentage points.
The Gallup results are based on telephone interviews with 1,001 adults across the country in August, 2005. The respondents rated their image of 25 business sectors as "very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative." The margin of error, according to Gallup, is =/- 3 percentage points. For more information on this survey, visit The Gallup Organization's Web site at www.gallup.com.
The results follow: The National Restaurant Association, founded in 1919, is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 900,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 12.2 million employees - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.
