Independent restaurants still having a hard time, analysts say Independent restaurants, which were hit especially hard by the recession, are still having a tough time. Overall, Americans ate out 60.6 billion times last year, according to the research company NPD Group. That's down from 62.7 billion in 2008. But of the 2.1 billion fewer visits, 2 billion were to independent establishments, NPD said. Instead, consumers patronized the larger restaurant chains, which added 4,511 units since 2009. In comparison, more than 7,000 independent eateries closed since the fall of 2008. Last year alone, visits to chain restaurants were up 1%, while meals at stand-alone businesses slumped 4%. "Independent restaurant operators have neither the money nor resources that the chains have," NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs said in a statement. They lacked the marketing power to drive traffic and the monetary buffer to get through the difficult times during the past several years. Small restaurant operations now make up just 27% of the U.S. restaurant industry.