Full-service surpasses limited-service restaurant sales in 2024

U.S. consumers purchase food-away-from-home (FAFH) at a variety of outlets, including full-service restaurants, limited-service restaurants, and other FAFH outlets, such as hotels, drinking places, and other non-commercial establishments. Full-service establishments typically offer wait staff, non-disposable dishware, and customers pay after eating, whereas limited-service restaurants focus on convenience with minimal staff, limited menus, and fewer dining amenities. The distribution of sales across these outlets has shifted over time. In 1997, full-service restaurants accounted for 36 percent of FAFH spending, compared with 33.5 percent at limited-service restaurants and 30.5 percent at other FAFH outlets. Full-service restaurants’ share of FAFH spending remained considerably higher than at other outlets until it began to decline during the Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009) and fell further during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. In contrast, limited-service restaurants’ share increased in 2020, peaking at 37.8 percent. Since then, those trends have reversed, and in 2024, sales at full-service restaurants surpassed limited-service restaurants (36.3 percent versus 36.2 percent, respectively). The share of other FAFH outlets declined to 27.4 percent in 2024, the lowest share for hotels, drinking places, and other non-commercial establishments since 1997. This chart appears on the USDA, Economic Research Service’s Market Segments topic page and its data come from the Food Expenditure Series.