Same-store sales and customer traffic

A solid majority of restaurant operators reported higher same-store sales in February, though that was largely because of dampened year-ago comparisons. 

Sixty-one percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between February 2025 and February 2026, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 43% who reported higher sales in January. 

Only 27% of operators said their sales declined in February, down from 45% in January.

Restaurant operators: Want to know how your business compares to similar restaurants on a monthly basis? Find out by taking a few minutes to participate in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey. All survey respondents receive exclusive access to the detailed survey results each month, broken out by industry segment and type of ownership.

Restaurant operators also reported an improvement in customer traffic readings in February. 

Forty-three percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between February 2025 and February 2026, up from 36% in January. Thirty percent of restaurant operators reported lower traffic in February, down from 55% in January. 

February represented the first time in 13 months that operators reported a net increase in customer traffic.

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