The article examines the state and prospects of the local market of restaurant services by conducting a sociological online survey. The restaurant market of the city of Izmail, Odessa region is chosen as object of research. The marketing research of a condition of the market of the offer is carried out, perspective niches for development of restaurant business are defined.
Analysis of trends in the market of restaurant services for 2017-2020. showed that the market is in its infancy, as evidenced by the calculations of the availability of seats in the public network of restaurants in Izmail: as of 2020 there is a shortage of seats per 1,000 inhabitants. It is established that a significant factor influencing the situation in the market of restaurant services is the level of income: declining incomes encourage consumers to refrain from visiting restaurants and prefer home-cooked meals. The reduction in the number of restaurant establishments in 2020 was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: many restaurateurs were unable to maintain their quarantined activities and were forced to close their establishments.
Diagnosis of the structure of the market of restaurant services in Izmail showed that the largest market share is occupied by cafes, restaurants, coffee shops and canteens. We characterize the structure of the restaurant services market as optimal, because most establishments are designed for middle-income customers. An analysis of the geographical location of Izmail's restaurant enterprises led to the conclusion that most of the establishments are located in the city center, while there are almost no establishments located outside the city limits.
Thus, 402 respondents took part in the sociological survey, of which 51% were men and 49% were women. The age structure is represented mainly by young respondents: 45,27% - participants aged 20 to 30 years, 30,35% - from 30 to 50 years. The most popular among the respondents were restaurants «pizzeria» (24.38%), «cafe» (18.41%), «coffee shop» (16.67%) and «restaurant» (10.20%). Most often, survey participants visit restaurants to celebrate celebrations (35,82%), meetings with relatives and friends (26,62%) and meals during breaks at work or study (12,94%). According to the majority of respondents, there are not enough restaurants outside the city (18,66%), in the «Fortress» area (17,91%) and in the city center. According to the format of the institution, which is not enough in the city, the opinions of respondents were divided: 20,90% consider it appropriate to open a restaurant complex; 20,40% - coffee; 19,15% - restaurant; 18,16 - pizzeria. Given the consumer demand for visits to restaurants located in nature, we consider it appropriate to develop a niche of country restaurants or complexes.
