Operations

Canadian restaurant industry recovery continues

Photo by istock.com

October 10, 2022

The Canadian restaurant industry saw a 5% increase in visits in August compared to a year ago, according to data from The NPD Group.

"In August, we saw a mix of pre-pandemic and COVID-era restaurant behaviors with the slowdown in dine-in visits and the uptick of carry-out orders, " Vince Sgabellone, NPD foodservice industry analyst, said in a press release on the data findings.

Restaurant dollars were up 9% in the month versus a year ago though dine-in visits slowed in August to a 28% increase from the triple-digit growth realized in the first months after the pandemic lockdowns.

Carry-out orders, which have been down since March, picked up some of the dine-in visits lost and were up 4% in August compared to a year ago.

Breakfast visits grew by 9% in August versus a year ago and visits at supper increased by 3%. Lunch traffic was down 3% in the month compared to a year ago.

Customer visits during the morning and evening snack periods grew by 11% and afternoon snack traffic grew by 9% in August, reported NPD.

Traffic to QSRs, which represented 74% of restaurant visits, increased by 4% in August compared to a year ago. QSR breakfast traffic was up 13% in the month while the other main meal dayparts were down.

Full service restaurant visits, representing 26% of industry traffic, were up by 6% in the month versus a year ago.