Sales at what Bloomberg News calls casual-dining establishments are falling as higher taxes and petrol prices his US pockets, according this story.

It’s a story that rings true here in the UK, even if all the economic factors aren’t quite the same and what the US financial press means by casual dining is franchises such as Taco Bell: the recession is hitting cafes.

Bloomberg quotes Matthew Beesley, of Henderson Global Investors Holdings. He says casual dining is suffering because “it’s not food on-the-go and it’s not high-end food for people trying to treat themselves.”

The stats:  Sales at casual-dining establishments fell 5.4% in February, 0.6% in January and 1.6% in December. Three months of negative growth (I’m always amused that economists can’t bring themselves to say shrinkage) is a recession when it affects an entire nation’s economy.