The Meal

Special Installment: Maundy Thursday
In its first treatment of this text, Homiletics looks at Paul’s words about “the Lord’s supper.”

During a recession, one thing people do to save money is cut back on eating out, and the restaurant industry has noticed.

Some eateries have lowered prices, and some have offered more coupons. Some have revamped their menus and redecorated their establishments to emphasize a more casual feel. Some have increased advertising to lure diners to come in more often. Those things have helped in the short term, but if a recent 10-year forecast is to be believed, things could get worse for many restaurants.

The reason, according to the prediction from the NPD Group, a Chicago-based research firm, is the huge population of baby boomers. The juggernaut size of that generation makes it a force in the economy, and boomers are starting to retire. Many of their 401(k)s and other retirement funds have been gutted by the recession. So they’ll need to economize, meaning they’ll likely eat out less often. The forecast tells restaurateurs not to count on the boomers to rescue their industry.