Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, our goal is to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve.


We create value for our members in five ways:

• Advocacy and representation
  Building and sustaining positive public opinion and a favorable political environment
• Tools and solutions
  Helping grow revenues, increase profitability, and develop employees
• Education and networking
  Providing opportunities to connect and learn from each other
  
• Research and insights
  Anticipating and preparing for emerging trends that could impact restaurants
• Responsible stewardship
  Providing thought leadership to inspire community involvement and impact

More on our programs and initiatives

The National Restaurant Association represents more than 380,000 member restaurant establishments. Our membership base consists of many different facets of the industry.

• Our restaurant members represent tableservice and quickservice restaurant operators, chains, franchisees and independents.
• Our allied members are suppliers, distributors and consultants.
• The student and faculty memberships represent those in the education field.
• The international membership allows those companies outside the U.S. to enjoy the benefits of the Association.
• And, the not-for-profit members gain access to information to better their organizations.

Here's how to join!

NRA compliance with the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act

The National Restaurant Association is a member of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), a network of national associations, international chains, hotel operators, restaurateurs and supplier companies in more than 150 countries, representing over 750,000 establishments. Its mission is to protect, promote and inform the hospitality industry, which comprises over 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants worldwide, employs 60 million people and contributes $950 billion annually to the global economy.