RETAIL / LEISURE : County Restaurant, Bar Sales Rise 5% but Diners Seek More Moderate Tabs

Orange County residents apparently have been living the good life and dining out more often.

Sales at the county’s restaurants and bars climbed 5% to about $2.1 billion in 1988 from about $2 billion in 1987, according to a newly released study by Laventhol & Horwath, an accounting and business consulting firm.

“Orange County’s restaurant industry is becoming increasingly dynamic, as a growing number of new restaurants heightens the competition,” Sandra Louvier, a restaurant specialist for Laventhol & Horwath in Costa Mesa, writes in the report.

The increase in local restaurant sales was not quite as brisk as the preceding year, when sales jumped 9%. And the county lags behind the rest of California, which registered an overall 7.1% increase in 1988 sales at eating and drinking establishments.

The reason for the slowdown? “We just got through some boom years, with a tremendous influx of new population,” Louvier explained. “People have less time because of increasing traffic congestion.”

Moreover, the county’s spending patterns have changed-- largely due to the area’s high cost of living, which cuts into residents’ discretionary income, the study concludes.

Orange County residents, Louvier said, are spending more time at moderately priced restaurants which allow them “to eat out nicely, but not less frequently.” Some examples are T.G.I.F., the Red Lobster, Sizzler chains and the Olive Branch chain, she said.

And what other restaurants are “in” these days, according to the report? Yep, you guessed it--mall food courts.