Will love of mom overcome economy worries on Mother's Day-

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He's got about 220 reservations at his Cajun-style restaurant, Bayou, for brunch on Sunday. Last year, he had 300 reservations but with the economy sagging, business is down.

Like many in the industry, he believes that love for Mom will trump fears about the economy. So when the phone rings this week, he's hoping it's someone booking a spot in his 115-seat dining room overlooking the Milwaukee River.

"You have high expectations and this is one of those markers that you have that you need to perform well on," said Jenkins, who owns the restaurant with his brother.

Mother's Day is the restaurant industry's busiest day of the year. If the holiday doesn't go well, profits could be affected for the rest of the year in what's already been a tough environment. Though Americans are projected to spend more than $1.5 billion each day this year at restaurants, many are pulling back in the wake of rising gas and food prices and shaky job markets.

Families like the O'Connells outside of Pittsburgh are trying to eat at home more often. This includes skipping an annual brunch at the Casbah restaurant on Mother's Day on Sunday and attending a cookout with family members instead.

Julia O'Connell said she and her husband want to make cuts as other expenses rise. Instead of eating out two to three times a week near their home in Fox Chapel, Pa., they limit trips for them and their two children to Friday nights, shaving their monthly restaurant bill from $400 to under $250.

"When we sat down and really started thinking, 'Where is the money going-' it hadn't occurred to us we could go out to dinner and drop $50 easily," said O'Connell. "It was ridiculous."

Americans spend nearly half their annual food budgets in restaurants, says the National Restaurant Association, which has 380,000 members. Sales are expected to hit $558 billion this year, but the growth rate is slowing. This year they're predicted to grow 4.4 percent from 2007. That's slower than the 2007 growth of 4.6 percent, and 2006's rate of 4.7 percent.

Areas hard hit by the housing crisis and job losses, such as Michigan and Ohio, are bracing for sales slower than the national average.

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