Fewer people are dining out these days

A new survey conducted by the research firm NPD group finds many people in New Jersey and across the nation are not eating out as much as they used to.

The results of the NPD Group's "Eating Patterns in America" report shows Americans bought 191 restaurant meals last year, compared to 215 meals in the year 2000. In addition, the group found that many people are taking snack foord such as fruit, yogurt and cereal bars and turning them into small meals, rather than cooking.

"In this economy everybody is fighting for discretionary dollars, including the restaurant industry," said Marilou Halvorsen, president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association.

She said aside from cutting expenses, restaurants are looking for new and innovative ways to draw customers in.

"Whether it's through social media, couponing, frequent diner programs, they are trying to come up with new and exciting ways to get people and get people in more often during the week," Halvorsen said. "Most restaurants obviously are pretty busy during the weekend, so it's getting them in that Monday through Thursday."

She said this includes "offering incentives, discounts, free appetizers. One of the chains in the state is doing the never-ending pasta bowl, which you can buy for the whole month and you can go in as often as you like."

Halvorsen also said some restaurants are working with charities, so that a portion of the proceeds goes back to the community.

"They're really trying to be creative and thinking out of the box," she said. "They're looking at how to get their customer base that's within their communities in during that mid-week."

According to Halvorsen, millennials tend to be looking more for an experience, rather than just a quick meal, so some restaurants are trying to reach out to them.

"The bottom line is: going out to eat certainly can be very cost effective. You don't have to worry about preparing the food, the clean up, all that. You know eat what you want and you're out," she sad.

Halvorsen said restaurants work on a very slim profit margin, anywhere between 3 and 5 percent. This includes food, labor and utilities, which are all expensive.

"It's very difficult and very expensive to operate a business in New Jersey," she said.