The Twin Cities weren’t quite in the black in April, but there were some signs of a spring thaw, with overall sales down less than 1%. Hosting the final games in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tourney delivered a nice boost, with a 1.6% bump in year over year sales on championship day. This month, it was Easter Sunday that really outperformed, with sales up more than 4% (Easter fell in April both years, albeit early in 2018, and towards the end of the month in 2019).
April’s numbers were the best in eight months, so it will be interesting to see if May can pick up some speed and we’ll see some positive sales growth going into the warmer months.
About these metrics: The MarginEdge monthly snapshot of Minneapolis/St. Paul restaurant sales is based on a sampling of 50+ area restaurants ranging from fast-casual to full-service.