US restaurant owners feel crunch as inflation takes toll on consumer spending: media

WASHINGTON - Many restaurant owners across the United States are feeling the strain of soaring inflation rates, as about 84 percent of consumers plan to spend less on dining out due to inflation, said a report by Business Insider.

Inflation hit a 41-year high in March. The spiking prices have affected goods and services ranging from gas to groceries, which have caused American consumers to hit the brakes on spending, said the report released on Saturday.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal consumption expenditures -- the government's measures for overall consumer spending -- rose 0.2 percent, or about $35 billion, through the month of February as a result of inflation.

Higher prices have not only affected the restaurant industry, but the ways in which workers are bonding with each other. The rising costs of lunch due to inflation, dubbed "lunchflation", mean some people can't afford to eat out with their teammates, said the report.