The Restaurant Apocalypse

The term “retail apocalypse” began trending in 2017 following multiple announcements from major retailers of plans to either discontinue or scale back a retail presence. In 2019, 9,300 retail stores closed, up from 5,844 in 2018 and 8,069 in 2017. Stories of Sears and Toys “R” Us going bankrupt made headlines while making some of us feel guilty for choosing Amazon’s convenience over these iconic brands. But while the retail apocalypse is getting more attention, partially due to the popularity of affected companies, we believe there’s another apocalypse with significant insurance implications.

And while this report is titled The Restaurant Apocalypse, we aren’t suggesting that restaurants, in general, are going away. Restaurants are stronger than ever in terms of sales. What we are suggesting is that the rise in off-premise dining and food delivery companies may lead to a new breed of restaurants that will require insurance companies to adapt in terms of marketing and coverage being offered.