Digging into restaurant reservations can tell a lot about trends in the industry in the area.

In this week's Deep Dive, News 12's Kristie Reeter looks at where things stand for New Jersey when it comes to dinning out.

OpenTable allows you to make reservations to various restaurants in the area, and Investopedia is pulling those numbers. News 12 asked Caleb Silver what are the trends in restaurant reservations in New Jersey?

“A lot of people using the OpenTable app, a lot of restaurants using it to make those reservations,” says Silver. “New Jersey has held up fairly strong. We have seen restaurant reservations rise 9% in September as folks were getting in those last late summer dinners. So the restaurant people using the app has been strong and a lot of restaurant reservation activity. But New Jersey Restaurants in general have been under pressure for the past 18 months."

How do the numbers translate into employment in the restaurant industry in New Jersey, and how are small businesses holding up?

"Well, it has been tough for them, and we have lost a lot of hundreds of restaurants in the New Jersey area,” says Silver. “Just to name a few Libby's Lunch in Patterson, a family favorite, the Fireplace in Paramus and the Watchung Deli in Montclair just to name a few of the great restaurants that have gone under. The hiring has kind of slowed in the restaurant sector as well. We have only seen about 120,000 jobs added back to the leisure and hospitality, that is the restaurant sector since April of 2020. Hiring really slowed in the last couple of months and restaurants are telling us now, they are having a hard time paying the rent."