---
title: "This Holiday Season May Help Restaurant Operators Finally Surpass Pre-Pandemic Sales Levels"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/7d57f7ba-a39c-4834-bddc-dd08388c8b07
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/this-holiday-season-may-help-restaurant-operators-finally-surpass-pre-pandemic-sales-levels-2717370
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2021-12-02T20:15:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:13:46.011Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/fb0a61428f73249a92d76efdc893b66d8247.jpg
---

# This Holiday Season May Help Restaurant Operators Finally Surpass Pre-Pandemic Sales Levels

**TL;DR:** Restaurant operators expect to return to or exceed pre-pandemic sales levels during the holiday season, with 83% of Americans planning to dine out, according to Lightspeed data. The company surveyed over 600 restaurant owners and 1,100 diners from the U.S. and Canada.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-12-02. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/this-holiday-season-may-help-restaurant-operators-finally-surpass-pre-pandemic-sales-levels-2717370).*

## Story

More than one third of restaurant owners currently expect to return to or exceed their pre-COVID holiday sales, according to recently released Lightspeed data.

The company surveyed over 600 restaurant owners and 1,100 diners from the U.S. and Canada and found that 83% of Americans plan to dine out during the holiday season and 84% of restaurant operators expect to meet or exceed pre-pandemic sales levels. This includes 46% percent of operators who said they expect to return to pre-COVID-19 sales levels during the holidays and 38% who said they expect to exceed pre-COVID-19 levels.

This renewed confidence may be a result of consumer behavior shifting as U.S. vaccination rates near 60%. Lightspeed reports that 39% of consumers plan to host a party for family and/or friends at a restaurant or bar and the 31% plan to host a corporate event at a restaurant or bar. One third of operators surveyed expect corporate holiday parties to make a comeback during the holidays.

The holiday season may also bring a boost to other revenue streams for restaurant operators. Lightspeed reports that 43% of diners in the U.S. plan to purchase a restaurant gift card and 29% of Americans plan to order catering for a holiday celebration.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- canada (location)
- United States (location)
- Lightspeed (company)
- holiday sales (topic)
- restaurant operators (topic)
- dining out (topic)
- pre-pandemic sales (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/this-holiday-season-may-help-restaurant-operators-finally-surpass-pre-pandemic-sales-levels-2717370). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/7d57f7ba-a39c-4834-bddc-dd08388c8b07).