217. Restaurant Sales Rising - Sentiment Falling

The Restaurant Report

Topical Smoothie is adding a double drive-thru restaurant that could help drive franchising growth for the brand. Existing franchisees are also behind 70% of the company’s total cafe openings this year, and have helped increase its year-to-date opening by 25% compared to the first three quarters of 2021. The chain also is one of the rising stars in consumer sentiment, growing to #28 on the Foodable Labs top 150 list.
In 2021, the company opened its 1,000th location and reported same-store sales growth of 22%. Last year, digital sales made up 76% of the company’s sales growth, after it introduced customizable online and mobile ordering.
Sales Rising
In the first three months of the pandemic, NYC taxable sales from bars and restaurants dropped over 50% (70% in Manhattan) since restaurants were not allowed to offer outdoor seating. This trend changed once Open Streets launched in June 2020, with a continued uptick in sales.
The uptick in sales compared to pre-pandemic levels reflect the growing impact of inflation and rising menu prices on company operations. Full-service meal prices were up 8.8% during the last 12 months compared to an increase of 7.1% for limited service, according to the Consumer Price Index.