Families taking kids back to restaurants

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Families with children are starting to inch back to the nation’s restaurants, according to new data from the research firm NPD Group.

Visits to restaurants by parties that included kids rose 1% during the three months that ended August 31. That’s not much, but it’s better than the declines of the last couple of years. The news comes on the heels of information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that restaurants have been hiring at a greater rate than the economy overall -- which most economists said was because sales at eateries had begun to improve.

Although the increase in visits reflect just one quarter, ‘the return of parties with kids is another sign that business is beginning to pick up for the restaurant industry,’ Bonnie Riggs, NPD’s restaurant industry analyst, said in a news release. ‘Parties with kids are integral to the industry and make a significant contribution in both volume and sales.’

In 2009, people with kids in tow spent $70 billion on meals and snacks, the company said.

-- Sharon Bernstein

Follow me on Twitter @sharonbernstein