As consumers are facing historic inflation and soaring energy and food costs, one thing remains constant in their lives: restaurant meals. On average, according to data from a Popmenu nationwide survey, 40% of individual or family food budgets are spent on restaurants monthly. In fact, when ordering online, 33% of consumers spend $50 or more per order on average.
Food inflation is putting a dent in consumer visits to restaurants, with April posting a 4% decline in traffic compared to one year ago. Inflation stands at 9% compared to April of 2019. The data come from Chicago-based research firm NPD.
Centre Partners acquired QSR chain Captain D’s Seafood for a second time. The first acquisition took place in 2013, with the middle-market private equity firm exiting the business in 2017. Terms of the Captain D’s transaction were not disclosed.
As the restaurant industry seeks to recover amid the challenges of inflation and supply chain challenges, its traffic is down 2% from last year. The latest update from the NPD Group, indicates total restaurant visits decreased by 2% in the first quarter of 2022, but were up 1% in comparison to 2020’s first quarter.
BBQ Holdings, the parent of Famous Dave’s, finalized its acquisition of Barrio Queen for $28M. The 100-unit multi-brand company completed the purchase April 11, marking the largest to date for BBQ Holdings.
A Checkers & Rally’s franchisee, Falcons Burger, acquired 30 Rally’s restaurants in Kentucky and Indiana, making it the largest franchisee of the brand. Longtime franchisee Joe Hertzman sold the units as he makes plans to retire. Falcons Burger now has 57 locations in the United States.
A restaurant industry sales report indicates that sales for February 2022 at eating and drink places were up 2.5% from the prior month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The update from the National Restaurant Association also indicated January’s adjusted total sales came in at $72.1B.
BBQ Holdings, soon to be Famous Hospitality, Inc., agreed to acquire the Barrio Queen restaurant group through an asset purchase agreement. The $28M deal for the Mexican fine-dining chain will be funded through cash and debt. The announcement came with the release of BBQ Holdings’ earnings report for Q4 and full fiscal year 2021.
Fast-casual Rasa raised additional capital in a completed Series A financing round led by Rellevant Partners, a women-founded growth equity firm. Janice Meyer and Jessica Kates head Rellevant Partners. Rasa, a customizable, Indian bowl concept based in Washington, DC, will use the funds for expansion and related technology initiatives.
Full-service restaurant sales rebounded in Q4 2021, up 55% from the prior-year same quarter, according to an inaugural quarterly Restaurant Trends Report from Toast. The point-of-sale (POS) and technology platform for restaurants pulled data together from 57,000 locations as of the end of 2021.
