By Kenneth Hilario Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
Local restaurants could lose big if they aren’t open for business during Mother’s Day weekend, which are historically Pennsylvania eateries’ most profitable two days.
Pennsylvania restaurants get 25% less in daily revenue than the national average, making it the 40th-ranked state for average restaurant revenues, according to Womply, which monitors transaction data at over 4 million small businesses.
Where the state wins big, however, is Mother’s Day weekend, the two most profitable days for U.S. restaurants — bigger than Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco De Mayo, according to Womply.
On a national level, the Saturday before Mother’s Day is the top-ranked day based on total sales, while Mother’s Day — the second Sunday in May, comes in at No. 2. Compared to an average day, U.S. restaurants see a 62% and 60% bump in revenue on the day before Mother’s Day and on Mother’s Day, respectively.
For Pennsylvania, those numbers jump to 75% and 71%, according to Womply. To compare, restaurant revenue drops 6% on Super Bowl Sunday compared to an average day; and revenue increases 65% on St. Patrick’s Day and only 9% on Valentine’s Day.
Womply did not break down data by county.
The top five days for Pennsylvania restaurants in 2018 were Mother’s Day weekend (May 12-13), Cinco de Mayo, and April 21 and 28, which were Saturdays.
Pennsylvania restaurants on any given day made $954 in revenue, according to Womply, processing about 33 transactions. Customers spend an average of nearly $29 per ticket.
In 2018, 56% of all revenue at Pennsylvania restaurants came in between Friday and Sunday. Saturday was the biggest day of the week, accounting for 21% of all revenue, Womply reports. Monday was the lowest-performing day of the week, with only 9% of revenue.