Casual dining sales trends, as indicated by Malcolm Knapp’s Knapp-Track Casual Dining Sales Index, sequentially accelerated on a two-year average basis.
Malcolm Knapp recently released estimated casual dining comparable restaurant sales for July. The sales environment remained strong overall and, while we expect a slowdown in headline Knapp numbers deeper into the back half of the year, the trend in July sequentially improved from June.
Estimated comparable restaurant sales growth in July was +1.4%. Final June comparable restaurant sales growth was +2.6% (versus the prior estimate of +2.4%). The sequential increase from June to July, in terms of the two-year average trend, was 25 basis points.
Comparable guest counts in the casual dining space grew +0.3% in July on a year-over-year basis. The final June guest counts growth number was +0.8% (versus the prior estimate of +0.5%). The sequential gain from June to July, in terms of the two-year trend, was 65 basis points.
Howard Penney
Managing Director
Rory Green
Analyst