Restaurant Industry Looking Up?

A recent report by the National Restaurant Association indicates that restaurant business overall in this country is looking up. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index tracks many things in the industry but overall, looks at the health of the restaurant business in the country.

It tracks trends such as same store sales, labor costs, customer traffic and capital expenditures as well as expectations for the future. Recently, the NRA cited a four-month gain in this index at 98.6 which was up 0.8 percent from the previous month of March. What does all this mean?

There are two indices that make the entire RPI index. The first is the Current Situation Index which tracks current indicators such as same store sales, traffic and labor among other items. The other is the Expectations Index which as the NRA puts it, tracks forward thinking trends such as again same store sales, capital expenditures and business expectations. The NRA conducts a nationwide survey of restaurant operators on a monthly basis to get their data.

The Current Index is still in a downward trend; however the Expectations Index is the one that is driving a more optimistic outlook of the restaurant business. While restaurant operators cited less traffic into their establishments, they did overall report an optimistic view with many saying they expect business conditions to improve in the next six months or so.

As a food distribution company in New England, AGAR sees many trends on a regular basis. Obviously the most important indicator would be order size from customers but AGAR also sees what is hot and what is not when it comes to food trends. Some of those are coming soon to this blog. Stay tuned.