Consumers hungry for restaurants

Consumers’ appetite for dining out has grown significantly from six months ago, according to a new study from consumer research firm Market Force Information.

About 25 percent of the 4,600 respondents to a Market Force poll indicated that they plan to eat at restaurants more in the next three months than they did during the previous three months, compared with only 5 percent of consumers surveyed in December 2009.

Only 8 percent of respondents projected that they would eat at restaurants less than they did the past three months, compared with 52 percent who said so in December 2009, while two-thirds of consumers said their eating-out habits would stay the same, an improvement from the 44 percent who responded that way six months ago, according to Market Force.

The study indicating growing consumer hunger for dining out comes amid broader signs of a sluggish economic recovery.