The State of Local Restaurants 2020
CALIFORNIA
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2019 calendar year at 36,000 local restaurants across the United States, including California. This resulted in a comprehensive examination of when local restaurants do the most business, when they serve the most diners, and what 2020 may look like when it comes to eating local.
What we learned about local restaurant sales in California
California is the 4th-ranked state for average daily restaurant revenue in the country, generating 22% more in daily revenue than the national average on a given day.
Do you own a restaurant in California?
How much do restaurants in California make on an average day?
On a typical day, the average restaurant in California brought in $1,652 in revenue. The average restaurant also processed about 52 daily transactions at an average of $31.54 per ticket.
| Sales Revenue | Transactions | Ticket Size |
| $1,652 | 52 | $31.54 |
| National Rank: 4 | National Rank: 9 | National Rank: 7 |
What days of the week are busiest for California restaurants?
Fridays and Saturdays are money makers at restaurants across the US, and that trend continues for California.
Saturdays were especially huge, with 20% of all restaurant revenue in California coming in on that day alone. On the other hand, Mondays were the slowest day of the week for California restaurants, with only 10% of revenue generated that day.
California restaurants processed an average of 61 daily transactions on Saturdays, more than any other day of the week.
Californians spend more per transaction on weekends, with Saturdays boasting the largest average ticket of the week at $36.56 per ticket. Average ticket price is lowest on Mondays, when diners spent an average of $8.93 less than on Saturdays.
What time of year do California restaurants make the most money?
Californians enjoy dining out regardless of the season, but what does the average year look like from week to week at restaurants in California? Let's take a look.
Summer was huge for restaurants in the Golden State. June was the top month of the year, and 7 of the top 10 weeks of the year were in the months of June, July, and August.
The weeks of Father's Day and Mother's Day were the #1 and #2 weeks of the year, respectively, while the week of Memorial Day was the #3 week of the year.
Top 5 days for California restaurants
Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Memorial Day were also huge from a single-day perspective for California restaurants, as each of the top five days of the year all fell during those holiday weekends.
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
5/12/19 Mother's Day |
6/16/19 Father's Day |
5/11/19 Mother's Day Weekend |
6/15/19 Father's Day Weekend |
5/25/19 Memorial Day Weekend |
| Sunday | Sunday | Saturday | Saturday | Saturday |
California restaurants on prominent days
Restaurants rely on holidays and events to drive big sales days 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 | 318 | -29% | 50% | $2,029 | 23% | 52 | -1% | $38.93 | 23% |
| Super Bowl Sunday | 256 | -19% | 70% | $1,646 | 0% | 48 | -9% | $34.52 | 10% |
| Valentine's Day | 141 | 6% | 80% | $1,879 | 14% | 55 | 4% | $34.40 | 9% |
| St. Patrick's Day | 110 | 19% | 75% | $2,268 | 37% | 64 | 22% | $35.62 | 13% |
| Friday before Easter | 50 | 33% | 95% | $2,004 | 21% | 62 | 19% | $32.28 | 2% |
| Saturday before Easter | 23 | 44% | 91% | $2,242 | 36% | 62 | 18% | $36.19 | 15% |
| Easter Sunday | 160 | 0% | 69% | $2,058 | 25% | 54 | 2% | $38.44 | 22% |
| Cinco de Mayo | 71 | 29% | 85% | $2,173 | 32% | 62 | 18% | $35.21 | 12% |
| Friday before Mother's Day | 35 | 38% | 97% | $2,030 | 23% | 61 | 17% | $33.17 | 5% |
| Saturday before Mother's Day | 3 | 60% | 94% | $2,425 | 47% | 63 | 21% | $38.33 | 22% |
| Mother's Day | 1 | 72% | 85% | $2,874 | 74% | 63 | 20% | $45.84 | 45% |
| Friday before Memorial Day | 34 | 39% | 99% | $1,995 | 21% | 62 | 19% | $32.13 | 2% |
| Saturday before Memorial Day | 5 | 52% | 96% | $2,256 | 37% | 61 | 17% | $36.77 | 17% |
| Memorial Day | 166 | -2% | 76% | $1,847 | 12% | 55 | 5% | $33.72 | 7% |
| Friday before Father's Day | 33 | 39% | 100% | $1,987 | 20% | 60 | 14% | $33.21 | 5% |
| Saturday before Father's Day | 4 | 55% | 97% | $2,272 | 38% | 60 | 14% | $38.03 | 21% |
| Father's Day | 2 | 62% | 88% | $2,624 | 59% | 61 | 17% | $42.93 | 36% |
| 4th of July | 287 | -24% | 66% | $1,654 | 0% | 48 | -9% | $34.56 | 10% |
| Friday before Labor Day | 70 | 30% | 97% | $1,918 | 16% | 60 | 14% | $32.22 | 2% |
| Saturday before Labor Day | 25 | 44% | 93% | $2,205 | 34% | 60 | 15% | $36.64 | 16% |
| Labor Day | 186 | -6% | 71% | $1,883 | 14% | 55 | 5% | $34.39 | 9% |
| Halloween | 235 | -16% | 85% | $1,401 | -15% | 48 | -8% | $28.95 | -8% |
| Thanksgiving Eve | 162 | -1% | 85% | $1,668 | 1% | 50 | -5% | $33.48 | 6% |
| Thanksgiving | 364 | -61% | 39% | $1,428 | -14% | 34 | -35% | $42.16 | 34% |
| Christmas Eve | 354 | -40% | 58% | $1,496 | -10% | 35 | -32% | $42.15 | 34% |
| Christmas Day | 365 | -67% | 22% | $2,162 | 31% | 42 | -21% | $52.00 | 65% |
| New Year's Eve | 191 | -7% | 71% | $1,867 | 13% | 48 | -8% | $38.78 | 23% |
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.