Strong summer gives restaurants reasons to be optimistic

Restaurant sales and traffic growth slowed down during July but remained stronger than the growth rates posted by the industry back in April and May. Same-store sales growth was 2.8% for the industry in July, down 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month’s year-over-year (YoY) growth. But June was somewhat of an anomaly, as the industry lapped over the month with the highest-ever average gas price and an inflation rate peaking at a 40-year high. The summer of 2023 has proven to be strong for restaurant activity despite the many pressures affecting consumers.