Food Services & Drinking Places
NAICS 722 food services: restaurant industry sales, delivery platform economics, fast-casual growth, and labor regulation.
Industry at a Glance
Sector-wide aggregates across all businesses classified under NAICS 722 (2017 classification frame). For specific sub-industries within this sector, see the individual reports below.
Industry Overview
Food services and drinking places (NAICS 722) covers full-service restaurants, limited-service (quick-service and fast-casual) establishments, caterers, food service contractors, and drinking places including bars and brewpubs. The National Restaurant Association reports that restaurant industry sales reached $1.1 trillion in 2024, making it the largest private employer sector after healthcare. McDonald's operates over 13,000 U.S. locations, while Starbucks runs roughly 16,000. The fast-casual segment led by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Wingstop, and CAVA Group continues to outpace full-service restaurant growth. Independent restaurants still account for roughly 60% of total establishments but face margin pressure from third-party delivery platforms: DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub collectively control over 95% of the U.S. food delivery market, extracting commissions of 15-30% per order. California's Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (AB 1228), effective April 2024, raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers at chains with 60+ locations to $20 per hour, becoming a policy template that other states are watching. The subsector employs roughly 12 million workers nationally, with annual turnover exceeding 70% at many quick-service operations. Texas, California, and Florida host the largest concentrations of food service establishments.
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Industry Trends
California's AB 1228 fast-food minimum wage of $20/hour is accelerating menu price increases and kiosk deployment at chains including McDonald's and Jack in the Box, with operators in adjacent states like Arizona and Nevada watching for spillover wage pressure.
Ghost kitchens peaked and are now consolidating: CloudKitchens (backed by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick) and Kitchen United have shuttered or pivoted locations, as operators find that delivery-only models lack the brand visibility and repeat traffic of storefront locations.
DoorDash's dominance in food delivery (roughly 67% U.S. market share) is prompting legislative responses, with New York City capping delivery commissions at 15% for orders placed through the platform's marketplace and 5% for orders where restaurants handle delivery themselves.
Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and other fast-casual operators are deploying automated assembly systems (Chipotle's Autocado and Hyphen's makeline robots) targeting labor cost reduction and throughput consistency in high-volume stores.
Full-service restaurant chains including Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse) and Brinker International (Chili's) are reporting traffic recovery through value-focused promotions and menu simplification, reversing post-pandemic pricing strategies that pushed average checks too high.
Available Reports
5 industry reports available for purchase under Food Services & Drinking Places.
Special Food ServicesNAICS 72232 reports▾
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)NAICS 72241 report▾
Specialty Reports Available on Request
8 specialty industriesavailable on request▾
Industry Groups
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is NAICS 722? ▾
How do delivery platform commissions affect restaurant profitability? ▾
What is California's AB 1228 and why does it matter? ▾
Why is fast-casual outperforming full-service restaurants? ▾
How are restaurants using automation? ▾
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