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Restaurants: What’s cooking in consumer spending?
A restaurant rebound is taking shape, powered by stronger wage growth, Gen Z spending and independent eateries.
August 2026
Key takeaways
- Americans are dining out again, according to Bank of America card data. Restaurant spending and transaction growth have both improved meaningfully in 2026. Some consumer food spend also appears to be shifting from grocery stores to restaurants, helped by easing restaurant inflation, trade-offs in the grocery space, and faster after-tax wage growth than a year ago.
- The restaurant recovery is being led by younger and lower-income consumers, supported by improving wage growth, according to Bank of America internal data. Lower-income households are now posting the fastest restaurant spending growth among income groups, while Gen Z leads all generations by a wide margin.
- Consumers are favoring local restaurants over large chains, according to Bank of America card data. Despite accelerating restaurant spending, some national chains are not fully participating in the rebound. Spending growth appears strongest at independent restaurants, regional operators and other non-chain establishments.
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