Earlier this year we released a new Avero Index highlighting Chicago area restaurant sales performance over the course of the year in 2015 compared to 2014. Now looking at the first four months of 2016 compared to 2015, we noticed a significant spike in April.
The 4.4% year-over-year increase in April could be due to the 2016 NFL Draft being held there for the second year in a row, driving tourists and football fans alike into bars and restaurants surrounding “Draft Town”, which consisted of Grant Park, Congress Plaza, and the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. The April 2015 to 2016 increase was even greater than the April 2014 to 2015 increase of 3.7%, and 2015 was the first year the NFL Draft was held in Chicago in over 50 years.
In addition to the NFL Draft, unusual weather could have contributed to the sales increase last month, according to Avero’s Restaurant Operations Specialist based in Chicago, Anthony Schaefer.
“I would attribute the swing primarily to weather,” Anthony said. “It snowed pretty late in March, so I think in April we had a little bit of a ‘cabin fever’ effect. Especially because we had some 70-80 degree days in April.”
What do YOU think attributed to the sales increase for Chicagoland restaurants last month?
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