National restaurant sales metrics for December 2024 are here!
Fast Casual showed strong growth, particularly peaking at ~7% growth on Christmas Eve this year, before ending the year at 0% compared to December 2023. Full Service also saw positive performance over the December holidays and ended the month with strong New Year's Eve sales at just over 2% on a 7-day moving average.
Food costs averaged 28% of sales last month, reflecting a 2% drop from November's average.
Fresh mango topped our Droppers list with prices -23% lower on average than in November, followed by iceberg lettuce and eggplant. Grape tomatoes and whole turkey topped the Movers list, with 36% and 29% price increases respectively from November.
Regionally, the December holidays and New Year's Eve performed very well nationwide, with the Midwest and Northeast ending the year with 3% growth over 2023.
We love seeing a strong year-end and are excited to see what January's numbers bring next month. We'll see you in February!