FRG - Earnings watch: Dine-in restaurants could feel a sales pinch as traffic falls back

Restaurant sales could be seeing an impact from the jump in omicron COVID cases in some parts of the U.S. The Evercore ISI Restaurants Sales Survey slowed for a third consecutive week as mixed sales and traffic were reported. The firm notes that quick-service restaurants held steady, while casual dining sales decelerated. The slowing trend in December follows stronger results in November. "Indoor dining has decelerated amid the rise in COVID cases, while drive through pick up and delivery remain strong. Staffing continues to be challenging to operators and suppliers are broadly asking for relief from higher input costs. We continue to see dispersion in response as the areas of clearest strength have been QSR and fast casual." A measure taken by Evercore of the comfort level with indoor dining fell in December, but is still much better than it read in August during the surge in delta COVID cases. Dine-in

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Earnings watch: Dine-in restaurants could feel a sales pinch as traffic falls back