ABSTRACT
In spite of its sustained growth over the past five decades, the restaurant industry has experienced one of the highest business failure rates. According to the Dunn and Bradstreet report, the restaurant industry has one of the highest business failure rates among the retail and service industries. The sizable economic impact of the restaurant industry can be measured by the 4% contribution it makes to the gross domestic product in the United States. Unfortunately, most of the definitions of business failure do not distinguish between the business process and outright business closure. The climatic factors and consequent effects contribute to restaurant insolvency: global warming, melting of ice caps, loss of rain forest acreage, declining seafood sources, reduction of fresh water resources, earthquakes and tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and volcanoes, extreme heat, and forest fires. Consumers' disposable income is the primary source of revenues for the restaurant industry.
