MRA President: Boston Restaurants' Great Performance Streak Could End

While Boston’s restaurants continue to perform well, the head of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association cautions the industry is approaching a tipping point. 

The negative effects of the state’s 3.2% unemployment rate is there are not enough people to fill available restaurant jobs. MRA president Bob Luz’s organization includes all 15,280 restaurants in the state. He told guests at Bisnow’s Restaurant Development in Boston event Thursday that, apart from family-run establishments, not one of them is fully staffed. Restaurants in Massachusetts have enjoyed a strong financial streak since 2008, but short staffing and a thinning of talent could bring the trend to a halt.

“Developers are always looking for restaurants to be a major part of their projects because they bring a vibrancy,” Luz said. “They’re always wanting to bring in the hottest, young, new chef. I get concerned with that, because maybe we’re stretching a bit.”

Added regulation and higher labor costs have driven the spike in prices on local menus. Historically, food costs were always the top expense for restaurant owners, and labor costs were significantly less, Luz said. Today, they are roughly the same, due to added expenses like increased minimum wage and insurance. Menu prices have escalated 2% to 3% over the last year while food prices at grocery stores are decreasing, and patrons are noticing the gap. 

“This run that we’ve been on may not necessarily continue, and that’s a challenge to the industry," Luz said. "Restaurateurs are a resilient bunch, though. They'll figure out how to get past these obstacles."