Consumer spending at restaurants suffered a three-month decline after sales at casual-dining establishments fell 5.4 percent in February, 0.6 percent in January and 1.6 percent in December, Bloomberg reports:
“February was pretty ugly” for many chains — and probably will be the worst month of the year — after January delivered an “initial blow” while Americans grappled with increased payroll taxes and health-care premiums, rising gasoline prices and budget debates in Washington, Knapp said. “It’s important to keep in mind that companies also are facing unusually tough comparable sales because of favorable weather in 2012,” so the result is an industry that’s been “a lot softer so far this year.”
