Research Notes: Can Restaurants Adapt To Economic Reality?

The end of the world as we know it. What a likely sea change in the American labor market means for the restaurant business

I’m a fan of Sonic. For several years, I lived in Oklahoma City, where the drive-in chain is headquartered. As I was then still young enough to eat at a fast-food restaurant without needing a three-hour nap immediately afterwards, and Sonics were (and are) everywhere in the city, I visited often.

When my family and I moved a little over a year ago to our…