As Avero continues to expand our client base of restaurants across the country and around the world, we are able to analyze key restaurant trends in more and more markets. This month, we take an in-depth look at year-over-year, same-store restaurant sales in the Atlanta, Georgia region.
As you can see in the graph above, Atlanta restaurants have seen steady growth in 2016 to date compared to 2015. This growth jumped more than 15% in February, which could be explained by the Leap Year effect – February had one more business day this year compared to last. Another reason could be the warmer than usual weather at the beginning and toward the end of the month, when the average temperature in Atlanta was almost 10 degrees warmer than the historical average. But could it also be due to a decrease in unemployment?
According to the Georgia Restaurant Association, Atlanta’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.7% in March of 2015 to 5.2% in March of 2016. This positive economic trend may have resulted in more and more Atlanta residents feeling compelled to go out to eat at their favorite restaurants.
“Atlanta’s people love to eat out and be seen,” said Richard Gorowitz, Avero’s resident Atlanta expert. “Especially at places like the Ponce City and Krog Street Markets!”
