Each month we release the Avero Index highlighting year-over-year national, New York and Las Vegas restaurant trends. For the latest Index we decided to dive a little deeper into the numbers.
On the national level, YOY same-store sales remained flat through June with moderate growth, at 0.9% for the second consecutive month. New York restaurants returned to modest but positive growth for the first time since February, thanks to continued strong performance from the downtown neighborhood and a rise in average checks greater than $40. Las Vegas restaurants actually saw negative growth last month, with significantly declining sales during the dinner and late night meal periods.
What could explain some of these positive and negative trends? According to Avero analyst Celena Tyler, gas prices, a longer and colder winter (especially in the Northeast and Midwest), later holidays such as Easter, and low restaurant traffic combined with higher average checks per visit are the main contributing factors.
“Industry professionals were definitely more optimistic about Q1 and Q2 than they actually turned out to be,” Celena said. “But overall, Q2 2015 closed at 100.7% YOY, and while this number is down from last quarter, a trend of continued positive growth is definitely a sign of strength for the restaurant industry!”
Read more of Avero’s restaurant sales analyses.
