December 2023 National Restaurant Sales Metrics

Christmas Eve and Day restaurant sales showed strong performance nationwide for both Fast Casual and Full Service segments. 

Fast Casual ended the month dead even with December 2022's numbers and Full Service was not far behind with -2%. Both segments' saw their best performance on Christmas Eve and Day, with Full Service peaking at around 14% and Fast Casual at 17%. Given the strong growth for both segments over Christmas 2022, these numbers are especially ones we're celebrating.

Tarragon topped our Droppers list at an average -28% price drop across MarginEdge customers in December, while Black Truffle, an already notoriously pricey ingredient, rose +55% to the top of our Movers list. 

The average food category costs as a percentage of sales dropped slightly from last month for MarginEdge customers, with food costs averaging 27% of sales.

Regionally, Christmas Eve and Day diners boosted sales across the nation with the Midwest seeing the biggest jump at just over 45% growth from 2022's numbers. 

We're glad that our industry's busy season was once again busy this year and we'll see you in February.