How Independent Restaurants Can Navigate Inflation and the 2025 Holiday Season

3 Min Read By MRM Staff

The holiday are fast approaching at a time independent restaurants are being squeezed from many sides with rising labor costs, ingredient prices and availability, and inflation, among other issues. Consumer Price Index data further highlights this strain, revealing year-over-year increase in food-away-from-home prices.

Dr. Anne E. McBride, Vice President of Impact at the James Beard Foundation (JBF), who oversees JBF’s initiatives around policy advocacy, research, and training, said operators feel pressure on various fronts including:

Rising operational costs and wage pressures: 92 percent of respondents to the JBF’s  2025 Independent Restaurant Industry Report said increasing staff wages in 2024, with a large majority increasing pay by more than 10 percent

Changing consumer spend and consumption: 72 percent of respondents reported same or fewer customers in 2024 versus the year prior

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