It’s tough to be a full-service restaurant in DC these days. Last month’s sales dropped more than 4% compared to April 2018, and the category has been down every month so far this year. Fast-casual outperformed full-service again this month, although with modest growth at just over half a percent. Still, it was enough to keep the category’s annual trailing average in the plus column – just.
Easter Sunday brunch didn’t help full-service either: sales were down close to 3.5%. (Easter fell in April both years, albeit early in 2018, and towards the end of the month in 2019.) So where were the customers? Was everyone out of town for Spring Break? Maybe May will tell a different story.
About these metrics: The MarginEdge monthly snapshot of DC Metro restaurant sales is based on a sampling of 100+ area restaurants ranging from fast-casual to full-service.