The State of Local Restaurants 2020
CHICAGO, IL
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2019 calendar year at 36,000 local restaurants across the United States, including Chicago. The result is a comprehensive look at when local restaurants make the most money, when they seat the most guests, and when customers tend to spend a little extra when eating out.
Do you own a restaurant in Chicago?
How much do restaurants in Chicago make on an average day?
On a given day, restaurants in Chicago brought in $1,313 in revenue. The average restaurant processed about 44 transactions each day while seeing customers spend an average of $29.79 per ticket.
| Sales Revenue | Transactions | Ticket Size |
| $1,313 | 44 | $29.79 |
What days of the week are restaurants in Chicago busiest?
Fridays and Saturdays are busy at restaurants across the country, and things were no different for Chicago restaurants
What time of year do restaurants in Chicago make the most money?
Chicago locals clearly love to dine out regardless of the season, but what does the average year look like from week to week at restaurants in Chicago? Let's take a look.
Top 5 days for Chicago restaurants
Mother's Day and Father's Day weekends were both huge for Chicago restaurants, with both holidays accounting for the top four days of the year overall.
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
5/12/19 Mother's Day |
5/11/19 Mother's Day Weekend |
6/15/19 Father's Day Weekend |
6/16/19 Father's Day |
6/1/19 |
| Sunday | Saturday | Saturday | Sunday | Saturday |
Chicago restaurants on prominent days
Restaurants look to events and holidays to generate big sales for their business. Here's how prominent days rank compared to the average day.
| Day rank based on total sales | How much did restaurants that were open make? | ||||||||
| Day | Day Rank | Total rev vs avg | % of restaurants open | Avg rev | Rev vs avg | Avg txns | Txns vs avg | Avg ticket | Ticket vs avg |
| New Year's Day | 250 | -24% | 60% | $1,456 | 11% | 41 | -7% | $35.67 | 20% |
| Super Bowl Sunday | 147 | 5% | 80% | $1,521 | 16% | 45 | 2% | $33.78 | 13% |
| Valentine's Day | 135 | 15% | 89% | $1,503 | 14% | 47 | 7% | $31.95 | 7% |
| St. Patrick's Day | 80 | 34% | 84% | $1,846 | 41% | 54 | 23% | $34.16 | 15% |
| Friday before Easter | 60 | 39% | 93% | $1,726 | 31% | 55 | 24% | $31.49 | 6% |
| Saturday before Easter | 29 | 50% | 93% | $1,858 | 41% | 56 | 26% | $33.47 | 12% |
| Easter Sunday | 149 | 4% | 70% | $1,724 | 31% | 41 | -6% | $41.66 | 40% |
| Cinco de Mayo | 40 | 46% | 90% | $1,889 | 44% | 55 | 25% | $34.39 | 15% |
| Friday before Mother's Day | 47 | 45% | 96% | $1,747 | 33% | 55 | 25% | $31.65 | 6% |
| Saturday before Mother's Day | 2 | 70% | 96% | $2,057 | 57% | 57 | 29% | $36.16 | 21% |
| Mother's Day | 1 | 91% | 87% | $2,525 | 92% | 56 | 27% | $45.08 | 51% |
| Friday before Memorial Day | 42 | 46% | 99% | $1,698 | 29% | 55 | 24% | $31.06 | 4% |
| Saturday before Memorial Day | 34 | 49% | 98% | $1,761 | 34% | 53 | 20% | $33.28 | 12% |
| Memorial Day | 235 | -21% | 66% | $1,398 | 6% | 44 | -1% | $32.12 | 8% |
| Friday before Father's Day | 38 | 47% | 100% | $1,699 | 29% | 55 | 25% | $30.83 | 3% |
| Saturday before Father's Day | 3 | 66% | 99% | $1,942 | 48% | 57 | 30% | $33.93 | 14% |
| Father's Day | 4 | 66% | 90% | $2,121 | 62% | 53 | 20% | $39.96 | 34% |
| 4th of July | 296 | -32% | 58% | $1,356 | 3% | 42 | -4% | $31.96 | 7% |
| Friday before Labor Day | 71 | 35% | 97% | $1,620 | 23% | 54 | 22% | $30.14 | 1% |
| Saturday before Labor Day | 32 | 49% | 96% | $1,804 | 37% | 55 | 24% | $33.08 | 11% |
| Labor Day | 226 | -18% | 64% | $1,478 | 13% | 48 | 8% | $31.04 | 4% |
| Halloween | 220 | -17% | 87% | $1,097 | -16% | 38 | -14% | $28.83 | -3% |
| Thanksgiving Eve | 145 | 7% | 86% | $1,438 | 9% | 46 | 5% | $30.97 | 4% |
| Thanksgiving | 359 | -50% | 43% | $1,344 | 2% | 33 | -24% | $40.17 | 35% |
| Christmas Eve | 281 | -28% | 59% | $1,415 | 8% | 35 | -20% | $40.33 | 35% |
| Christmas Day | 364 | -62% | 26% | $1,690 | 29% | 38 | -14% | $44.65 | 50% |
| New Year's Eve | 174 | -6% | 67% | $1,611 | 23% | 42 | -4% | $38.19 | 28% |
Methodology
Womply analyzed daily revenue for over 36,000 restaurants in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, for all 365 days of the 2019 calendar year. Restaurants were only included in the analysis if they qualified as small businesses, Womply had a full year of transaction history, and the business recorded multiple transactions per day, on average.