MRM Research Roundup: Mid-January 2019 Edition

This first-of-2019 edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features news on America's favorite fast casual brands from Market Force,  the most popular delivery items last year from Bite Squad, the importance of sensory experience from Mood Media, pricing trends from Plate IQ and more.

2018 Was Best Year for Restaurants Since 2015December closed the year strong for the restaurant industry. December’s same-store sales growth of 2.0 percent was the best monthly performance in over three years, according to TDn2K. The fourth quarter of 2018 was also encouraging for the industry. Not only was the quarter’s same-store sales growth of 1.4 percent the best in over three years, but the industry was able to achieve those results on top of the only quarter with positive sales growth in 2017. From an annual perspective, 2018 saw the industry return to a positive same-store sales growth of 0.7 percent, after two years of declining sales.

As…