THE STATE OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS 2018
District of Columbia
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2017 calendar year at 26,000 small, independent restaurants across America. The result is a comprehensive look at when restaurants earn the most money, when they seat the most guests, and which states make the most dough from patrons who #eatlocal.
What we learned about the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia is the #1 place for restaurants in the country. Coming in 1st in both the number of daily transactions and sales revenue, D.C. has a booming restaurant industry. The nation’s capital also experiences a higher percentage of sales on weekdays than most states.
Understanding this report
To understand the average day for restaurants in America, we took a multidimensional look at their performance. We specifically looked at:
- Transactions: How many individual payments restaurants process.
- Ticket Size: How much patrons spend on average per transaction.
- Daily Sales Revenue: How much revenue restaurants make per day.
THE AVERAGE DAY FOR D.C. RESTAURANTS
Restaurants in D.C. rank 1st for the average number of transactions each day, 3rd for average ticket size, and 1st for average daily revenues. All told, this makes Washington, D.C., the top spot for restaurant sales nationally.
| Transactions | Ticket Size | Sales Revenue |
| 83 | $46 | $3,809 |
| National Rank: 1 | National Rank: 3 | National Rank: 1 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WEEKDAYS
COMPARED TO WEEKENDS
Like most states, restaurants in D.C. see more revenue, and more transactions, on the weekend. Interestingly, the average ticket size doesn’t increase as much from weekday to weekend like we see in other areas of the country.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA’S AVERAGE WEEK
Here we see a day by day look at the average daily sales revenue in D.C. compared to the national averages. D.C. mostly follows the national trend but has higher-than-average weekday sales.
THE AVERAGE YEAR FOR D.C. RESTAURANTS
On a national level, sales revenues only have a subtle variation from month to month. That holds true for D.C. restaurants.
TOP 5 DAYS FOR D.C. RESTAURANTS
Here are the top revenue-generating days for restaurants in D.C. Like many states, St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the lead-up to New Year’s Eve are among the best.
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| DEC 29New Year’s Eve Weekend | APRIL 1 | AUG 25 | MAR 18St. Patrick’s Day Weekend | MAR 17St. Patrick’s Day |
| FRIDAY | SATURDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | FRIDAY |
D.C. RESTAURANTS ON PROMINENT DAYS
Restaurants put a lot of focus and work into big events and holidays, but how do the most prominent days rank compared to the rest of the year and the average day?
| Day | Rank/365 | Daily Sales | Change in sales | Number of transactions | Change in Transaction Volume | Avg Ticket Size | Change in Avg Ticket |
| Super Bowl | 287 | $2,889 | -24.14% | 73 | -11.34% | $39.34 | -14.06% |
| Valentines Day | 100 | $4,529 | 18.92% | 81 | -2.17% | $55.88 | 22.09% |
| St. Patrick’s | 5 | $6,288 | 65.09% | 120 | 44.48% | $52.53 | 14.76% |
| Cinco De Mayo | 53 | $5,121 | 34.46% | 109 | 31.24% | $47.10 | 2.90% |
| Mother’s Day | 44 | $5,325 | 39.80% | 98 | 18.40% | $54.28 | 18.59% |
| Father’s Day | 116 | $4,201 | 10.30% | 86 | 3.56% | $48.96 | 6.97% |
| July 4th | 320 | $2,524 | -33.74% | 67 | -18.54% | $37.40 | -18.30% |
| Day before T-giving | 240 | $3,266 | -14.24% | 68 | -17.79% | $47.96 | 4.77% |
| Thanksgiving | 361 | $1,870 | -50.89% | 22 | -73.32% | $84.63 | 84.90% |
| Christmas Eve | 315 | $2,560 | -32.78% | 43 | -48.00% | $59.43 | 29.85% |
| Christmas | 365 | $1,030 | -72.96% | 17 | -79.98% | $62.10 | 35.66% |
| New Year’s Eve | 78 | $4,819 | 26.52% | 76 | -7.80% | $63.08 | 37.82% |
Methodology
Womply analyzed daily revenue for 25,893 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for all 365 days of the 2017 calendar year. Restaurants were only qualified for the analysis if Womply had a full year of transaction history and the business recorded multiple transactions per day, on average. Category and overall state rankings are based on a composite score of each state’s transactions, average ticket sizes, and overall daily revenue.
About Womply
Womply is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider to small businesses and one of the fastest growing software companies in America. Our mission is to help small businesses thrive in a digital world. Every day we serve more than 100,000 small businesses across 400+ business verticals, in every corner of America. To learn more, visit https://www.womply.com or email info@womply.com.
