Photo: istockphoto

From April 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009, about 4,000 restaurants closed across America, reports market research company NPD. (Thanks, recession!) Among the hardest hit by the economy are independent restaurants (read: not chains), which saw an overall decline of 2 percent — a figure aided by the staggering closure rate of independent fine-dining destinations, which saw their numbers shrink by a whopping 7 percent. NPD attributes the rash of closures to the indies “having a hard time competing with the resources and marketing power of major chains.” That’s putting it mildly. [NPD via BuisnessWire]