Big chains have been wooing consumers with increasingly discounted food --and it appears to be working—at the expense of the little guy.

　　许多大型连锁饭店都开始推行餐饮折扣服务，并以此来吸引顾客。这一策略似乎成效显著，只是这样一来，连锁餐饮的兴盛使得许多个体经营的小饭馆经营惨淡，逐渐走向没落。

　　According to a new report from food industry research firm NPD Group, last year the total number of chain restaurants increased by more than 3,200 locations while over 7,100 independent eateries closed up shop in 2015.

　　根据食品行业研究机构NPD集团最新发布的一则报告显示，去年一年，连锁饭店总数量同比增长了3200家，与此同时，超过7000家独立经营的小饭店关闭店面，停止营业。

　　Total restaurant visits last year were up by 700 million compared to five years earlier, almost returning to pre-recession levels. But according to NPD, many restaurants—which the group defines as eateries —were hit hard by the recession and are struggling to recover since smaller restaurants don’t have the capital to recover as quickly.

　　同五年之前相比，去年一年餐馆的顾客总量就增长了7亿人，基本恢复到经济衰退前的水平。但是据NPD集团报道，许多性质和个体小餐馆类似的饭店受经济衰退的影响较大，他们没有足够的资金来帮助其迅速周转经营，只得努力挣扎，重新起步。

　　“Chains have been heavily investing in advertising and ‘dealing’ to drive customer traffic these past several years and independents don’t have the resources to compete,” NPD spokeswoman Kim McLynn told Buzzfeed.

　　NPD集团发言人吉姆·麦克林恩告诉“Buzzfeed”新闻网站，“过去几年，这些连锁饭店将大部分资金投在广告以及如何可以招揽更多顾客等方面，而那些个体经营的小饭店并没有能力与之抗衡。”

　　On average, fast food chain restaurants grew by 1.5 percent last year while visits to full service restaurants declined. Starbucks added 559 U.S. locations in 2015 while Dunkin’ Donuts added 349 outlets. Both Taco Bell and Chipotle each added about 200 stores in the same time period.

　　平均而言，连锁快餐店数量在去年同比增长了1.5%, 但全方位服务餐厅的顾客数量有所减少。2015年，星巴克在美国本土新增加了559个店面，唐肯甜甜圈则新开了349个零售店。塔可钟集团和小辣椒(一家墨西哥美食连锁速食店)也在同时期各自增加了200个分店。

　　Growth has been spurred in part by the slew of new promotions offered by the larger chains. Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and now Taco Bell have all recently rolled out different dollar deals—ranging from simple dollar items to Wendy’s four for $4. Burger King had an even cheaper promotion with five items for $4.

　　其中，一些大型连锁店开展一系列的新型促销活动，一定程度上也促进了顾客数量的增长。类似汉堡王、温蒂汉堡、麦当劳以及现如今的塔可钟在最近都在进行价格战厮杀，起初是一些小型的促销项目，后来温蒂汉堡推出了4美元可以购买4项指定餐点的活动。汉堡王更是不惜血本，推出4美元可以购买5项指定餐点的活动。

　　That’s not to say that big fast food joints are immune to the restaurant struggle. McDonald’s, which has faced notorious revenue problems, had 91 fewer U.S. locations in 2015 than the previous year. KFC closed 100 and Pizza Hut closed 41 restaurants.

　　这并不是说大型快餐店就可以完全置身事外，免于同行之间的争斗。2015年，麦当劳就因为收益问题，比2014年少开了91家店面。除此之外，肯德基也陆续关闭了100家店面，必胜客关闭了41家。

　　But all is not lost for the restaurant industry. The fast casual quick service category continued to expand, growing by 5 percent from 18,176 in fall of 2014 to over 19,000 last year.

　　但对于餐饮业来说，他们并非一无所有，再无出头之日。那些便捷的快餐服务行业仍在扩展当中，并从2014年秋季的18176家迅速增长到2015年的19000多家，同比增长了5%。

　　McLynn said “the restaurant business is challenging and in the end it’s the survival of the fittest.” In a post-recession era, the “fittest” may be those restaurants which are perceived as offering the greatest value.

　　麦克林恩表示，“餐饮业非常具有挑战性，该行业同样秉承适者生存的原则。”在经济衰退后的时代，所谓的“适者”或许就是能够提供最优质服务的餐厅。

（编辑：何莹莹）