(NewsNation) — Several restaurant chains are sounding the alarm about their customers’ attitudes as the country’s economy worsens due to inflation and slow hiring numbers.

Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Cava — all purveyors of “slop bowls” — have seen their stocks drop dramatically in 2025. Chipotle’s stock is down about 50% for the year, while Cava has seen a 60% decline. Sweetgreen last week revealed in its earnings that same-store sales slid 9.5% and visits fell nearly 12%.

“The 25-to-35 (year old) consumer is the most under pressure, and they make up about 30% of our consumer base,” Sweetgreen’s CFO Jamie McConnell said.

Chipotle’s CEO Scott Boatwright added the chain is not losing its consumer base to competition, but instead to grocery stores and people eating at home.

A “slop bowl,” an informal term for a bowl of mixed ingredients, has been popular for years among young adults, who are “one of our core consumer cohorts,” he said. “They feel the pinch and we feel the pullback from them, as well.”

Raymond James restaurant analyst Brian Vaccaro said customer bases for chains are also being affected by the government shutdown and by increased competition from value meals at fast-food rivals.

“The fast-casual restaurants face several issues, in particular that the softer wage and spending growth that had been affecting lower-income consumers seems to be creeping up into the middle income and young professional consumers,” Vaccaro said.

McDonald’s and WingStop also acknowledged sales have declined in areas made up largely of low-income customers.

Starting this week, Sweetgreen said it will begin promoting that it has boosted protein portions by 25%.