October 2023 National Restaurant Sales Metrics

October started with strong positive growth for Fast Casual and Full Service restaurants across the country. 

Fast Casual beat out Full Service once again, with sales ending at 1% above October 2022's numbers and Full Service ending not far behind at -1%. Both segments saw a huge bump during the first week of October, both peaking at around 3-4% positive growth. 

Fluke fillets topped our Droppers list for the biggest price decrease from September to October, with an average -27% price drop for MarginEdge customers, and Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples helped fill out the remaining four spots which is great news for the start of fall. Black truffles topped our Movers list with a 67% price increase last month. 

Food, beer, wine and liquor average category costs as a percentage of sales increased slightly from last month for MarginEdge customers in October, with food costs averaging 30% of sales.

Regionally, the Northeast, South and West all ended the month on par or positive compared to October 2022, while the Midwest took a hit due to an extreme cold snap the last few days of the month. Sales there were stable for most of October, so we're hopeful numbers will pop back up with better weather.

We're wishing you all a bountiful November (always a historically strong month for MarginEdge customers) and we'll see you next month!