Restaurant Sales Rebound, Industry Reenters Growth Mode

The restaurant industry experienced a bump in sales in February that improved the overall outlook for business conditions and put the sector back into a growth period.

The National Restaurant Association’s monthly Restaurant Performance Index stood at 100.9 in February, up 1% from January. The index is an overall measure of the industry’s health, with any value over 100 signaling a period of expansion. February marked the first time in nine months that the index was above the 100 level.

The improvement was primarily credited to stronger same-store sales and customer traffic readings — although the association noted those numbers benefited from a soft February 2025 comparison. Still, 61% of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose year over year in February, a jump from 43% in January. Customer traffic also was up, with 43% of survey respondents saying they had more customers in February, an improvement from 36% who said the same the month before.

Capital spending has remained steady through the industry’s recent upswings and downswings. Fifty-two percent of restaurant operators said they invested in equipment, expansion, or remodeling during the past three months — the ninth consecutive reading above 50%. Looking ahead, 54% of operators are planning a capital expenditure sometime in the next six months, the 11th consecutive month in which a majority of operators said the same.

The full February 2026 Restaurant Performance Index is available here.