Sales at Atlanta restaurants continued to grow in the second quarter of 2015, but at a slower pace than in previous quarters, according to a new survey.
Sales were up 1.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, with about 63 percent of the 79 independent eateries surveyed by NetFinancials reporting positive comps. That is down from the first quarter of this year when sales were up 5.5 percent.
New restaurant entries and continued unemployment in the metro region impacted overall sales, with the largest number of dining destinations reporting negative comps — 37 percent — since 2010.
“We expect comp sales at existing Atlanta restaurants to recover as the local unemployment rate improves and newly opened restaurants are absorbed into the Atlanta hospitality ecosystem,” said Bob Wagner, president of NetFinancials and a CPA who measures dining habits in Georgia’s capital.
Nationally restaurant revenue increased 1.8 percent in the second quarter, according to Black Box Intelligence, a restaurant sales and traffic-tracking company.
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