"Momofuku founder David Chang says America's youth isn't drinking alcohol in the same way as earlier generations, and it has become the "real existential threat" to the restaurant industry. "Kids just don't drink anymore," Chang said in an interview with TBPN talk-show hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays this week. "They are never going to know what it is like to wake up at 3 p.m. in the afternoon and be like: 'Shit, I left my credit card in that bar.'""
"Gen Z not getting drunk is a problem for restaurants, he said, where the sales ratio is generally about 70% food to 30% beverages. "Something is going to give when you are down 18% on beverage sales," he said, citing average sales numbers across the restaurant industry. According to a Gallup survey from August, the percentage of young adults - Gen Z and some millennials - who say they are drinking alcohol fell by 9% between 2023 and 2025."
Gen Z is consuming significantly less alcohol, altering traditional beverage-driven revenue for restaurants. Beverage sales typically make up about 30% of restaurant revenue, and declines of around 18% threaten profitability. Contributing factors include health and wellness priorities, higher alcohol prices, and changing social habits such as shunning nightclubs and favoring communal dining and supper clubs. The shift compounds existing industry challenges including rising ingredient and labor costs and weakening consumer sentiment, leaving many restaurants more financially strained as customers eat out less to save money.
Read at Business Insider
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