StatsCan report on food services and drinking places

Ottawa – Statistics Canada’s latest report pegs total sales for food services and drinking places as being up 0.4% in November to $5.5 billion.

Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 2.5% in the 12 months to November, and prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments were 1.3% higher.

Sales at limited-service eating places increase
Higher receipts at limited-service eating places (+1.0%) were the main contributor to the gain in November. Sales at limited-service eating places increased for the sixth consecutive month.

Receipts from the special food services group (+1.1%), which includes food service contractors, caterers and mobile food services, were also up in November.

Sales at full-service restaurants (-0.2%) were down for the second consecutive month. Following three months of sales gains, drinking places (-0.2%) posted lower sales in November.

Sales up in eight provinces
After declining in September (-1.6%) and October (-0.5%), sales in Alberta were up 0.8% on the strength of limited-service eating places.

Receipts in Ontario edged up 0.2%, following a 0.1% decline in October.

Higher sales were reported in Quebec (+0.4%) for the third consecutive month.

Sales in Saskatchewan (+2.2%), British Columbia (+0.3%) and Manitoba (+0.9%) were up, following declines in all three provinces in October.

Nova Scotia reported a 0.8% increase following two consecutive monthly declines.

Sales in New Brunswick (-0.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-0.2%) were down in November.

Restaurants accounts for over 10% of total food and retail; up quite a bit from 1930
As 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the organization compared the first comprehensive survey conducted on the subject, the sales of restaurants in 1930 were $76 million. This represented 2.8% of the total for retail merchandise trade that year. In 2015, restaurants and food services sales totalled $61 billion and represented 10.6% of total food and retail trade.