March 25/Chicago/Business Wire -- The 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains registered a decline in sales, posting 0.8% annual sales decline in 2009. According to data released by Technomic Inc. in its annual reporting on the top U.S. restaurant chains, the foodservice consultancy found that U.S. systemwide sales for the Top 500 declined to an estimated $230.0 billion in 2009, down almost $2 billion over 2008.

"As the U.S. economy remained in a recession, restaurant operators continued to face a host of challenges, including cost pressures followed by declines in consumer dining demand. The data in this report clearly supports what we've been hearing in our consumer research surveys over the past year. Sales among the Top 500 restaurant chains contracted 0.8% in 2009, versus 3.4% growth in 2008," said Ron Paul, president of Technomic. "Many chains scaled back their U.S. unit expansion efforts and shuttered underperforming stores, growing units by just 0.3% compared with 1.8% a year ago."