Restaurant operators reported mixed sales results in January, which was an improvement from December’s dampened readings. 

Forty-three percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between January 2025 and January 2026, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 37% of operators who reported higher sales in December. 

Forty-five percent of operators said their sales declined in January, down from 53% in December.

Restaurant operators continued to report customer traffic declines in January, though results were somewhat better than December. 

Thirty-six percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between January 2025 and January 2026, up from 28% in December. Fifty-five percent of restaurant operators reported lower traffic in January, down from 60% in December. 

January represented the 12th consecutive month in which operators reported a net decline in customer traffic.