Another restaurant closes: what's happening to Tamworth's food industry?

The shuttering of Hog's Breath Cafe marks the latest in a string of high-profile restaurant closures, some of which have been staples of Tamworth's culinary scene for more than 30 years.

Central Hospitality (CH) Group chief executive and former Tamworth Business Chamber president Jye Segboer says it's a sign of the times.

"The fact is people have cut back - and understandably so - on any recreational or additional spend outside the essentials for their household. Food and beverages, going out, even simple things like getting a haircut are getting pushed back because of increased costs of living," Mr Segboer said.

"Across our venues we're seeing anywhere between a 10 to 20 per cent decline in business."

At the same time, Mr Segboer says regional businesses are getting hit particularly hard by cost pressures from rising rents, utilities, and pressure on wages.

"The industry standard is your rent shouldn't be any more than 10 per cent of your revenue, but when revenue drops and rents go up that percentage isn't going to sit where it should," he said.

And the problems Mr Segboer identified aren't limited to Tamworth.

An analysis from financial services company CreditorWatch shows nationally about one in 13 food and beverage businesses are at risk of failing due to "dried up" consumer spending.

The CreditorWatch report said things are likely to get worse for businesses in the hospitality sector before they get better.

It predicts market conditions will not improve until consumer spending lifts, something economists don't expect to see until at least the second half of next year.

Until then, Mr Segboer says local businesses should be ready to have hard conversations and ask for help if needed.

"When we suffered a downturn in the economy throughout the drought we sat with our landlord and had open conversations about the current financial state of the business," he said.

"As a society we might see those conversations as difficult or embarrassing because they're seen as us failing, but at the end of the day the circumstances you might find yourself in aren't necessarily your own fault.

"You could be working as hard as you possibly can, giving the best product you possibly can, the best service you possibly can, but the economy just isn't where it needs to be to support you right now."

Locally, restaurants are doing whatever they can to get by.

Some are bringing the hammer down on dine-and-dashers while others search for alternative streams of revenue.

Co-owner of Burger Bulls Dilbir Singh says his business is lucky it still owns two food trucks from its early days, before moving into a permanent spot on Kable Avenue.

"We might not have survived without them to be honest," Mr Singh said.

"There's a lot of demand for freshly-cooked food at events and that's something that gives a big boost for our business."

But beyond costs and revenues, Mr Singh says the biggest challenge for Burger Bulls is finding chefs as the region continues to struggle with a skilled labour shortage.

Mr Segboer at CH Group said he seconds Mr Singh's comments, telling the Leader he's wary the "city-centric" Australian Government will cut back on skilled migration with little-to-no regard for regional areas.

"We struggle immensely to get chefs regionally, 80 per cent of CH Group chefs are visa holders. It's scary because it looks like the federal government is thinking of moving chefs off the Skills Priority List," he said.

"For an industry that's already struggling to fill those roles, doing that would cripple hospitality in regional areas because we don't have the trained population in that skillset."