Avero Index May 2019
Restaurants in the U.S. welcomed an uptick in sales this May following a slow April. Nationally, restaurant sales grew by 2 percent compared to last May with brunch sales holding the strongest performance, showing a 4 percent growth. For the second month in a row, restaurants with an average check in the $0-$25 range saw the strongest growth with a 4 percent increase in sales.
New York City restaurants experienced the worst performance out of all cities examined in the Avero Index this month. May brought record cold temperatures to the city along with continuous rain, continuing a two-month trend of weather impacting restaurant sales. Additionally, extreme rain and cold temperatures dramatically affected this year’s Mother’s Day restaurant sales. The holiday is usually a strong sales day for the restaurant industry, but unfortunately, this year’s Mother’s Day sales were down by 12 percent compared to last year. Covers also dropped by 11 percent, likely due to the particularly bad weather on Mother’s Day in NYC.
Los Angeles restaurants saw a strong month with sales increasing by 2.9 percent compared to last May. This was the highest performing city measured in the Avero Index. Harley DeMyers, General Manager for TAO Group Los Angeles, cites two reasons for the improved performance. He notes that along with a cooler overall month in LA, at his restaurant, an increase in private events largely increased this month’s performance.
Read on for further analysis of restaurant sales in other major cites in the U.S.
