Restaurant Sales - DC - March 2022

Spring Brings Stability for DMV Restaurants

In the spirit of one-hit-wonder Chumbawamba’s immortal words: DMV restaurants may get knocked down, but they’ll get up again! 

March’s moving monthly average metrics for Full Service ended up at 57.4%, well above (more than double!) how they fared in March 2021, and Fast Casual remained consistent at 5.5% year over year. 

On top of inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices skyrocketing in early March and is likely the most impactful culprit behind this month’s overall drop from February. While these numbers may seem less than ideal, they are still positive compared to last year’s sales, particularly for Full Service which is well above the 7.9% food cost increase. 

If we look at overall sales on a more granular level, we can see an increase in tandem with warmer weather and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Business District in particular performed well towards the end of the month, exceeding moving average sales compared to the rest of DC and DMV areas. In late March/early April 2020 and even in 2021, the business district was still trending way below the rest of DC and the DMV, so this is fantastic news for our Business District friends!

Delivery rates also increased, but not back to where they were mid-January, ending at roughly 11% for DMV and almost 14% for the rest of the country.

Overall the data shows that even with the invasion, inflation, and all the other obstacles being thrown at restaurants, good weather and tourist festivities are once again providing better sales days.  

We look forward to seeing what April has to offer!