New York City and Other Major Metro Areas are Coming Back from Pandemic Losses 

Spring Break and Pent-Up Demand Help to Advance Recovery of Lodging and Recreation Foodservice in April

Spring break 2022 was a stark contrast to two years ago when it was the height of the pandemic. Travel sources reported spring bookings up 134% from 2021, and the World Travel & Tourism Council projects that travel and tourism will reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022. As a result of more travel and tourism and the release of pent-up demand, case units shipped from broadline foodservice distributors to...

Canadian Restaurants Enjoyed A Robust Return of Customers in the First Quarter

Full service restaurants benefitted from the pent-up demand to dine out

The Canadian foodservice industry continued to show promising recovery in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year’s same quarter, reports The NPD Group. Physical and online visits to restaurants and commercial foodservice outlets increased by 18% in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, when traffic declined by 9% due to indoor dining restrictions. Consumer spending in the quarter grew by 27% compared to a year ago when spending declined by...

Papa John’s International Announces First Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Papa John’s International, Inc. today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 27, 2022.

First quarter 2022 highlights compared to first quarter of 2021

- Total company revenues increased 6.0% to $542.7 million; global system-wide restaurant sales of $1.3 billion, up 5.3% (excluding the impact of foreign currency)
- Comparable sales up 1.9% in North America and 0.8% Internationally, lapping prior year gains of 26.2% and 23.2%, respectively
- 62 net unit openings driven by accelerating development activity and growing pipeline, especially Internationally...

US Restaurant Industry Ends Challenging First Quarter with Customer Traffic Down from A Year Ago

In the first quarter of 2021, the third round of stimulus payments, availability of COVID vaccines and relaxed pandemic restrictions helped increase online and physical visits to U.S. restaurants by 3% compared to the same period a year before, according to The NPD Group. The first quarter of 2022, in contrast, presented a host of headwinds, including higher food and energy costs, for restaurant consumers and restaurants. Challenged by these headwinds and compared to a 3% gain in last year’s first quarter, online and physical...

White Castle® Celebrates Successful First Year in Orlando

White Castle®, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, opened its restaurant in Orlando, Florida, to much fanfare on May 3, 2021, and the excitement has yet to subside. In nearly 12 months since the grand opening, the restaurant has become the top performer among White Castle's more than 350 restaurants, on pace to sell 5 million Sliders by its anniversary date.

Besides selling a record number of hot-and-tasty Sliders of all varieties, the Orlando location used 40,000 freshly cracked eggs to make its tantalizing breakfast Sliders...

As Soon As Pandemic Restrictions Lifted, Canadians Flooded Back Into Restaurants 

One of the most predictable behaviours that emerged over the past two years of the pandemic is Canadians will flood into restaurants as soon as restrictions lift, which happened in February, reports The NPD Group. Online and physical visits to Canadian restaurants and foodservice outlets increased by 17% in February compared to February 2021, when traffic declined by 23%. Despite the double-digit increase in visits, commercial foodservice traffic remains -9% below the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, according to NPD’s continual tracking of the Canadian foodservice industry...

U.S. Restaurant Industry Traffic Improves in February After January Declines 

The U.S. restaurant recovery got back on track in February after January declines, reports The NPD Group. Online and physical restaurant traffic was up 2%, and consumer spending was up 8% in February compared to a year ago. Total restaurant visits in the month were down 8% from the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, according to NPD’s continual tracking of the U.S. foodservice industry.

Quick service restaurant traffic improved by 1% in February compared to a 7% decline in February 2021. This February, online and physical visits to...

February Retail Sales Rose Strongly Year-Over-Year While Monthly Pace Slowed Amid Inflation

Retail sales showed a strong year-over-year gain in February, but the monthly pace slowed compared with January as inflation drove up prices and lingering effects of the COVID-19 omicron variant affected the supply chain, the National Retail Federation said today.

“Retail sales data continues to show impressive consumer resilience,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Despite all that’s been thrown at them including inflation, supply chain constraints, market volatility and significant geopolitical events, consumers remain able and willing to spend... 

U.S. Restaurant Recovery Hits A Rough Patch in January With Customer Traffic Down

Quick service visits were down in January on top of last year’s declines

After ten consecutive months of traffic gains over steep pandemic-related declines, the U.S. restaurant industry’s recovery stalled in January, reports The NPD Group. Physical and online visits to U.S. restaurants were down 2% in January compared to an 8% decline in January 2021. The 4% increase in consumer spending at restaurants reflects higher food and operational costs. Total restaurant traffic, online and physical, is down 10% from the pre-pandemic level in...

Subway® Record-Setting 2021 Sales Results to Fuel 2022 Positive Momentum

Subway, one of the world's largest quick service restaurant brands, announced that 2021 was a record-setting year for the brand, driven by the launch of Eat Fresh® Refresh, the largest menu update in the brand's history, and the kick-off of its ongoing multi-year transformation journey.

Subway ended the year with U.S. sales exceeding projections by nearly $1.4 billion and its highest annual system average unit volume (AUV) since 2014. Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic, such as reduced operating hours, 75% of...

New Technomic Foodservice Index Represents Continued Decline in December, due to Omicron

Each month, Technomic releases its TIndex, which showcases the index on the total U.S. foodservice industry. December’s number continued the decline from previous months, dropping to 95.9 from 97.2 in November and 97.8 in October. Based on this data, the industry is down 4.1% over a two-year basis but has grown by 23% compared to December 2020.

“The main reason for this downward slide is the emergence and rapid spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant,” explains Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic...

Improvements Towards Breakfast, Morning Snack, and Lunch Business at US Restaurants

With students returning to schools, employees returning to workplaces, and more out-of-home activities, some aspects of the US restaurant industry adversely affected by schooling, working, and staying at home during the early stages of the pandemic are starting to improve, reports The NPD Group. For example, breakfast, morning snack, and lunch dayparts were impacted by people not being outside their homes during these times, and now that many are, restaurant visits for these meals and snacks are increasing.

In the last three months ending November, online and...

New Technomic TIndex Release Confirms Foodservice Industry Performance Down Again in November

Drivers of the decline include softness in travel and leisure as well as less traffic for independents

Technomic’s latest TIndex release, representing foodservice industry health, showed another slight decline in November from October. This result means we’ve seen two months of moderate deceleration, and Technomic cites similar drivers for both months: traffic moderation among independent restaurants and continued softness in the travel and leisure segments.

“The TIndex dropped to 97.2 in November, down from 97.8 in October and 98.9 in September,” explains Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic...