Texas restaurant operators reported  softer same-store sales and traffic results in July. Twenty-four percent of Texas respondents reported higher same store sales in July, while 578% reported a sales decline. On the national level 39% of operators reported a sales gain in July while 44 percent reported lower sales. 19% of Texas operators reported high customer traffic in July when compared with the previous year and 71% reported lower traffic. Nationally 35% of operators reported higher customer traffic in July 2010 vs. July 2009 and 46% reported lower traffic.

 

Fifty-two percent of Texas operators reported that they may capital expenditures in the last three months. Thirty-eight percent of Texas operators plan to make capital expenditures in the next six months.  Twenty-nine percent of Texas operators see the outlook for business conditions improving in the next six months while 24% believe things will get worse and 48% believe conditions will remain about the same.

 

 

Fifty  percent of Texas operators report higher average food costs over the last year and menu prices remain stable with 76% reporting no increases in the last month. Sixty-seven percent of Texas operators report menu prices remain about the same as July 2009.  Nationally 66% of operators report  menu prices remain about the same as last year.