Sales growth in restaurants is gaining steam, with stronger results in recent weeks, according to the latest weekly Restaurant Industry Performance Pulse report from Black Box Intelligence, a data and insights provider. Same-store sales growth for each of the three weeks leading up to July 4 were higher than any week during the eight weeks before that period.
Limited-service sales growth continues to outperform casual dining, family dining and upscale casual by a wide margin, Black Box said. However, fine dining remains the best-performing segment for sales growth. Despite the improved sales performance, restaurants traffic and guest counts are down compared to 2019. As a result, dine-in sales continue to suffer, with deeper losses seen in limited-service brands.
The industry continues to experience a worker shortage, with quick service restaurants jobs down 20 percenter and sit-down restaurant jobs down 41 percent compared to pre-pandemic norms. Likewise, convenience store jobs are 18 percent below pre-COVID-19 levels. Two areas that have seen an increase compared to before the pandemic are grocery jobs (82 percent) and hospitality jobs (279 percent).