The State of Local Restaurants 2020
IOWA
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2019 calendar year at 36,000 local restaurants across the United States, including Iowa. 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 Iowa
Iowa is the 37th-ranked state for average daily restaurant revenue in the country, generating 20% less in daily revenue than the national average on a given day.
Do you own a restaurant in Iowa?
How much do restaurants in Iowa make on an average day?
On a typical day, the average restaurant in Iowa brought in $1,082 in revenue. The average restaurant also processed about 44 daily transactions at an average of $24.57 per ticket.
| Sales Revenue | Transactions | Ticket Size |
| $1,082 | 44 | $24.57 |
| National Rank: 37 | National Rank: 31 | National Rank: 43 |
What days of the week are busiest for Iowa restaurants?
Fridays and Saturdays are money makers at restaurants across the US, and that trend continues for Iowa.
Saturdays were especially huge, with 21% of all restaurant revenue in Iowa coming in on that day alone. On the other hand, Mondays were the slowest day of the week for Iowa restaurants, with only 9% of revenue generated that day.
In terms of the average number of transactions, Fridays and Saturdays were the biggest days of the week for Iowa restaurants, processing 53 daily transactions on average.
Iowans spend more per transaction on weekends, with Saturdays boasting the largest average ticket of the week at $28.73 per ticket. Average ticket price is lowest on Mondays, when diners spent an average of $8.06 less than on Saturdays.
What time of year do Iowa restaurants make the most money?
Iowans enjoy dining out regardless of the season, but what does the average year look like from week to week at restaurants in Iowa? Let's take a look.
May was the biggest month of the year overall for restaurants in the Hawkeye State, no doubt thanks to a huge lift from Mother's Day Weekend. The week leading up to the holiday was the biggest week of the year, and the week before that was the 9th.
Top 5 days for Iowa restaurants
Mother's Day was responsible for the single-biggest day of the year for local restaurants in Iowa. Spring break was also big for restaurants in Iowa, accounting for two top days as well.
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
5/11/19 Mother's Day Weekend |
3/16/19 |
3/30/19 |
4/27/19 |
6/15/19 Father's Day Weekend |
| Saturday | Saturday | Saturday | Saturday | Saturday |
Iowa 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 | 296 | -30% | 64% | $1,037 | -4% | 36 | -17% | $28.51 | 16% |
| Super Bowl Sunday | 238 | -17% | 75% | $1,029 | -5% | 39 | -11% | $26.11 | 6% |
| Valentine's Day | 96 | 20% | 92% | $1,227 | 13% | 49 | 10% | $25.25 | 3% |
| St. Patrick's Day | 117 | 12% | 75% | $1,387 | 28% | 51 | 15% | $27.33 | 11% |
| Friday before Easter | 24 | 53% | 98% | $1,457 | 35% | 57 | 30% | $25.37 | 3% |
| Saturday before Easter | 54 | 44% | 95% | $1,422 | 32% | 50 | 14% | $28.38 | 16% |
| Easter Sunday | 319 | -35% | 57% | $1,063 | -2% | 36 | -18% | $29.34 | 19% |
| Cinco de Mayo | 95 | 23% | 83% | $1,395 | 29% | 51 | 16% | $27.27 | 11% |
| Friday before Mother's Day | 41 | 47% | 98% | $1,404 | 30% | 56 | 26% | $25.29 | 3% |
| Saturday before Mother's Day | 1 | 76% | 93% | $1,759 | 63% | 58 | 31% | $30.45 | 24% |
| Mother's Day | 7 | 63% | 77% | $1,967 | 82% | 57 | 30% | $34.46 | 40% |
| Friday before Memorial Day | 26 | 52% | 96% | $1,475 | 36% | 55 | 25% | $26.80 | 9% |
| Saturday before Memorial Day | 29 | 50% | 94% | $1,490 | 38% | 51 | 16% | $29.20 | 19% |
| Memorial Day | 259 | -23% | 60% | $1,202 | 11% | 46 | 4% | $26.16 | 6% |
| Friday before Father's Day | 9 | 61% | 100% | $1,512 | 40% | 56 | 28% | $26.96 | 10% |
| Saturday before Father's Day | 5 | 65% | 97% | $1,599 | 48% | 54 | 22% | $29.71 | 21% |
| Father's Day | 70 | 39% | 80% | $1,619 | 50% | 52 | 18% | $31.14 | 27% |
| 4th of July | 311 | -34% | 63% | $993 | -8% | 38 | -14% | $26.10 | 6% |
| Friday before Labor Day | 65 | 40% | 97% | $1,350 | 25% | 53 | 21% | $25.39 | 3% |
| Saturday before Labor Day | 77 | 38% | 91% | $1,410 | 30% | 50 | 14% | $28.20 | 15% |
| Labor Day | 306 | -33% | 59% | $1,064 | -2% | 42 | -5% | $25.42 | 3% |
| Halloween | 251 | -21% | 87% | $854 | -21% | 39 | -11% | $21.81 | -11% |
| Thanksgiving Eve | 131 | 7% | 83% | $1,203 | 11% | 44 | 1% | $27.05 | 10% |
| Thanksgiving | 364 | -70% | 36% | $777 | -28% | 29 | -34% | $26.82 | 9% |
| Christmas Eve | 361 | -52% | 52% | $857 | -21% | 28 | -38% | $31.16 | 27% |
| Christmas Day | 365 | -83% | 19% | $828 | -24% | 31 | -29% | $26.56 | 8% |
| New Year's Eve | 138 | 6% | 71% | $1,399 | 29% | 46 | 5% | $30.24 | 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.