Same-store sales and customer traffic

Restaurant operators reported stronger same-store sales in September. 

Fifty-four percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales increased between September 2025 and September 2026, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 51% in August and marked the highest reading since February (61%). 

Thirty percent of operators said their sales declined during the 12-month period, while 16% said their sales remained about the same.

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.

For the second consecutive month, restaurant operators reported mixed customer traffic readings. 

Forty-two percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between September 2025 and September 2026, while 44% reported a decline. That was similar to August’s results (43% higher / 46% lower). 

Despite the improvement during the last two months, September represented the 19th time in the last 20 months that operators reported a net decline in customer traffic.

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