Tax refunds can’t outpace gas prices, dampening optimism for restaurant operators

You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletters. When the year kicked off, there was some optimism — albeit cautious — about the tax refunds coming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year providing some discretionary spending momentum for consumers who have otherwise pulled back on restaurant visits. We heard some of that optimism trickle into fourth quarter earnings calls throughout February, as well.  During his company’s Q4 call, for example, Chip ...