Rising prices have forced many Americans to eat out less often.
“Although dining out remains a staple for Americans, economic pressures have made
consumers more cost-conscious. Seven in 10 consumers say they eat out at least
once a month, yet more than a third report doing so less frequently compared to last
year, citing rising costs and a greater need to save financially,” according to YouGov Senior Sales director Nora Hao.
YouGov’s U.S. Dining Out Report 2025 shared some key data points.
- More than a third (37%) of American diners are eating out less frequently than they did a year ago.
- Among lower-income diners, this share rises to 44%.
- Just 8% of diners say they are eating out more than they were last year.
- The rising cost of dining out has been a major factor, with 82% of Americans saying restaurant prices have increased in the past 12 months.
The situation has led to multiple restaurant closures and forced chains such as Starbucks, Denny’s, and Wendy’s to close hundreds of locations. The economy, however, is not the only reason restaurants close.
Egg Works, which the Las Vegas Review-Journal called “a Las Vegas breakfast and brunch institution,” has decided to close multiple restaurants.
Egg Works closing two Las Vegas-area stores
Egg Works is one of those Las Vegas chains that draws locals who might bring tourists there to show them something special off the Strip. I learned about it during a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) when a friend wanted to meet without going anywhere near the Las Vegas Strip, which becomes essentially gridlocked during that convention.
It’s an old-school family restaurant full of familiar breakfast items and some twists on those classics, like its Hawaiian section, which offers the chain’s take on the Moco Loco. The expansive menu also offers burgers, a section on Cincinnati-style chili, and a lot more.
Now, it has decided to close two locations. Both have operated at their respective sites for 28 years, leaving the chain with four restaurants operating under the Egg Works brand and another using the Egg & I name.
Owner Brad Burdsall shared the reason for the closures on his chain’s Instagram page.
“This decision did not come lightly,” Burdsall posted.
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He cited moving out of state and into semi-retirement as the chief reasons he chose to close the chain’s W. Flamingo Road and South Rainbow Boulevard locations.
“We’ve had the joy of starting your mornings with hot coffee and familiar favorites, and being your gathering place for early mornings, business lunches and long, lingering conversations.
“We’ve watched first-day-of-school breakfasts turn into graduation celebrations, and quick weekday lunches become treasured traditions,” the post continues.
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Egg Works is part of a dining trend
The chain began in 1988 as the Egg & I and later expanded as EggWorks in 2005, according to Fox 5 Las Vegas.
“They’re a local favorite and known for the happy-and-sad egg cards placed on each table. When guest are in need of assistance, they can flip the display to the sad egg, where a team member will immediately come by,” the site reported.
Diners have broadly struggled across the U.S.
Having lived on Long Island in the 1990s, I’ve seen firsthand how many of the 24/7 diners that once defined the area have been replaced by housing or strip malls in recent years.
It’s a trend that’s impacting both local operators and chains.
- Denny’s revealed plans to close about 150 of its lowest‑performing restaurants by the end of 2025 as part of a strategy to improve overall performance amid flagging sales, according to NBC Washington.
- A 2026 industry snapshot that shows Denny’s closures continuing alongside cuts at other chains also noted that Denny’s is part of a trend of major restaurants closing underperforming locations amid rising costs and changing consumer habits, according to Business Insider.
- Breakfast, family, and diner‑style chains like Perkins have also seen closures of longtime locations, reflecting broader pressures on sit‑down casual dining, reported The Sun.
- Classic American diners are disappearing nationwide, with some chains closing more than 100 locations as rising costs, labor shortages, and declining in-store traffic make the traditional diner model harder to sustain, according to TheStreet.
- Regional data show iconic diners continue to close across the U.S., including multiple long-running locations in diner-heavy markets such as New Jersey, as aging customer bases and changing lifestyles reduce demand, reported NJ 105.
Diners have struggled broadly
“Sadly, I think it is a trend,” Cornell University Hospitality Professor Christopher Gaulke told Fox News.
With fewer customers in the dining room, plus all these other costs increasing, fewer people wanting to work — it just doesn’t make economic sense,” he added.
Diner closings have been part of a larger trend impacting restaurants.
“More than 10% of restaurants in the United States have closed permanently since the coronavirus pandemic began last March, foodservice research firm Datassential said,” Nation’s Restaurant News reported.
Seeing diners close means losing a part of American history, according to TheStreet advisor and RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino.
“The disappearing American diner isn’t just nostalgia. It’s a math problem that doesn’t add up. My first date with my wife was at the Kings Plaza Diner in Brooklyn. It’s a piece of classic Americana being priced out of its own kitchen,” he shared with TheStreet.
Miserandino does understand why diners are closing.
“You can’t run 24-hour operations on 2026 labor costs when food prices are up 34%. The all-day breakfast used to be a superpower. Now, with 9% of full-service spots at risk of closing this year, it’s a liability. When you lose the diner, you lose the last place in America where a CEO and a construction worker sit at the same counter. We aren’t just losing pancakes. We’re losing our common ground,” he added.
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