Facts at a Glance

• Sales: $580 billion

• Locations: 945,000

• Employees: 12.7 million — one of the largest private-sector employers

• Restaurant-industry share of the food dollar: 49%

• $1.6 billion: Restaurant-industry sales on a typical day in 2010.

• $2,698: Average household expenditure for food away from home in 2008.

• 40 percent of adults agree that purchasing meals from restaurants and take-out and delivery places makes them more productive in their day-to-day life.

• 73 percent of adults say they try to eat healthier now at restaurants than they did two years ago.

• 57 percent of adults say they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how much a restaurant supports charitable activities and the local community.

• 78 percent of adults say they would like to receive restaurant gift cards or certificates on gift occasions.

• 52 percent of adults say they would be more likely to patronize a restaurant if it offered a customer loyalty and reward program.

• 57 percent of adults say they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how much a restaurant supports charitable activities and the local community.

• 56 percent of adults say they are more likely to visit a restaurant that offers food grown or raised in an organic or environmentally friendly way.

• 78 percent of adults agree that going out to a restaurant with family or friends gives them an opportunity to socialize and is a better way to make use of their leisure time than cooking and cleaning up.

Get more details in our 2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast.