Census Reports October Sales Gains for Restaurants

(Nov. 25, 2009)—Restaurants post sales gain in October.

Eating- and drinking-place sales increased in October, up 1.2 percent from September, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Eating- and drinking-place sales were 1.5 percent above the October 2008 level. The restaurant industry fared better than the retail sector overall; total retail sales (not including foodservice) dropped 2.1 percent between October 2008 and October 2009.

Read the Census Bureau Report

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners