Chains in Crisis

And the hammer drops: "For the first time in nearly two decades, the $550 billion restaurant industry has suffered stagnant sales this year, creating painful cash-flow problems for restaurateurs who can't get credit lines to cover investment and operating costs even as food and labor costs have risen sharply....'The credit crisis is having a devastating effect on nearly every segment of the industry,' says Aaron Allen...'This is the death knell for a number of restaurant chains.'" [Time]