Atlanta’s Independent Restaurants and the Reluctant Recovery
By Robert Wagner, CPA
Yes, Atlanta restaurant sales continue to improve. Mother’s Day helped with ‘families who brunch,’ and waits for “Dads and Grads” dinners were long. In fact, aggregate sales for May 2010 at surveyed restaurants increased 3.7% over sales for May 2009 - a slight improvement over our February restaurant survey. February 2010 total restaurant sales increased just 1.3% over sales the prior February.
How are individual restaurants doing?
The number of restaurants in our survey showing sales increases edged out those showing sales declines. Of the 62 restaurants surveyed, 34 experienced increased sales over May 2009. Twenty-eight restaurants showed sales decreases from the prior May. So that’s 55% showing a sales rise, with 45% reporting a sales decline.
We also examined year-to-date 2010 sales compared to 2009. And here the results are about the same. Of the 62 restaurants surveyed, 50% had year-to-date 2010 sales greater than 2009 sales and 50% showed 2010 year-to-date sales declines.
Conclusion
Much like the rest of the area’s economy, our Atlanta restaurant industry is still waiting for a robust economic recovery. While May aggregate restaurant sales increased slightly, only a little over half of the restaurants we surveyed saw a sales increase in May. And that’s compared to very weak sales for May 2009! The Great Recession may be over but many Atlanta restaurant operators feel trapped in a reluctant recovery. With highly-regarded restaurants such as Repast and Joel closing their doors, many independent restaurants are still looking for a post-recession “bounce” to show up at their cash registers.
The Sample: The 62 independently-operated, non-franchise restaurants were drawn from the metro Atlanta market. The sample includes restaurants in the fast casual, casual and fine-dining segments.
Robert Wagner, CPA is president of NetFinancials, Inc. which provides a full range of tax and accounting outsourced services for restaurant companies. Email: bob.wagner@netfinancials.com. www.netfinancials.com
By Robert Wagner, CPA
Yes, Atlanta restaurant sales continue to improve. Mother’s Day helped with ‘families who brunch,’ and waits for “Dads and Grads” dinners were long. In fact, aggregate sales for May 2010 at surveyed restaurants increased 3.7% over sales for May 2009 - a slight improvement over our February restaurant survey. February 2010 total restaurant sales increased just 1.3% over sales the prior February.
How are individual restaurants doing?
The number of restaurants in our survey showing sales increases edged out those showing sales declines. Of the 62 restaurants surveyed, 34 experienced increased sales over May 2009. Twenty-eight restaurants showed sales decreases from the prior May. So that’s 55% showing a sales rise, with 45% reporting a sales decline.
We also examined year-to-date 2010 sales compared to 2009. And here the results are about the same. Of the 62 restaurants surveyed, 50% had year-to-date 2010 sales greater than 2009 sales and 50% showed 2010 year-to-date sales declines.
Conclusion
Much like the rest of the area’s economy, our Atlanta restaurant industry is still waiting for a robust economic recovery. While May aggregate restaurant sales increased slightly, only a little over half of the restaurants we surveyed saw a sales increase in May. And that’s compared to very weak sales for May 2009! The Great Recession may be over but many Atlanta restaurant operators feel trapped in a reluctant recovery. With highly-regarded restaurants such as Repast and Joel closing their doors, many independent restaurants are still looking for a post-recession “bounce” to show up at their cash registers.
The Sample: The 62 independently-operated, non-franchise restaurants were drawn from the metro Atlanta market. The sample includes restaurants in the fast casual, casual and fine-dining segments.
Robert Wagner, CPA is president of NetFinancials, Inc. which provides a full range of tax and accounting outsourced services for restaurant companies. Email: bob.wagner@netfinancials.com. www.netfinancials.com
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