Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Restaurant traffic and the economy
Here is an interesting graph that shows restaurant traffic by month for the last few years. September and October were "epochally awfully" (in Paul Kedrosky's words), but November showed some small growth over the prior year, primarily attributable to fast food. None of this is surprising given how bad the economy is. Indeed, I would have expected a sharper decline, insofar as the avoidance of restaurants would seem to be a particularly painless way to save money. The graph measures traffic, though; perhaps people are spending less on each visit.
National data notwithstanding, I have seen no impact in the Princeton area. Perhaps our local economy is stronger than average (at least until somebody buys Bristol-Myers Squibb and shuts it down), or maybe it is that our family is so "down market" that we have a skewed sample. We tend to frequent "family casual dining" chains such as T.G.I. Friday's, Macaroni Grill, and the like; perhaps they are grabbing traffic from people who in good times would spend more in a nicer place. What are you seeing in your area?
7 Comments:
By 
Gammer Gurton, at
Tue Feb 03, 05:10:00 PM:
Much less traffic here (Maui). Come give us some business. There'll be a free mai-tai in it for you.
By TigerHawk, at
Tue Feb 03, 05:26:00 PM:
I suspect that places which are dependent on tourism are getting crushed. The hospitality industry is the first to suffer in a recession and close to the last to recover.
By Purple Avenger, at
Tue Feb 03, 06:05:00 PM:
Seems to be the usual number of out of state plates driving around south Florida this winter and traffic around Orlando is pretty stiff every time I drive up to our lab there.
An abnormally harsh winter up north may have something to do with this ;->
By 
, at
Tue Feb 03, 06:07:00 PM:
Vegas seems to be doing OK:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/03/billion-bailout-wells-fargo-goes-vegas/
By , at
Tue Feb 03, 06:26:00 PM:
I travel all over the US. Regardless of where I travel, I am surprised how full the highways and restaurants appear to be. Chicago, San Jose, Houston, Atlanta, Raleigh, San Francisco are all still busy places.
By , at
Tue Feb 03, 06:54:00 PM:
No real signs of a recession here in Dallas. Rush hour traffic is at an all time high, the malls and shopping centers are still jammed, as are movie theatres and family-friendly restaurants. Another good indicator would be attendance at professional sporting events. The Dallas Stars recently announced a discounted ticket promotion to attract more fans. Almost everyone has given up on the Mavericks so I expect they will soon be looking for a gimmick to increase attendance.
By Viking Kaj, at
Tue Feb 03, 07:43:00 PM:
Just got back from a mid week ski trip to Summit Co. Colorado. They are hurting up there mid week. There were maybe 50 people in the whole hotel from the cars in the parking lot, or about quarter of normal, and it was no problem getting a table anywhere at 7pm.
