Restaurant growth trends remain steady based on analysis of legal filings, business registrations, and permit activity across U.S. markets. Despite concerns surrounding a potential second wave of COVID, new restaurant opening activity has remained remarkably consistent over recent months.
Legal filings provide early indicators of restaurants opening soon, often identifying expansion activity several weeks before public announcements occur. Companies monitoring restaurant leads and foodservice leads frequently analyze permit filings and incorporations to better understand restaurant expansion trends and emerging market opportunities.
Numbers remain remarkably consistent throughout. The resurgence, or ”second wave” of Covid has been well under way for over a month with no sign (YET) of decline. We will see over the coming year what develops…Stay tuned!
Key Insights
- Restaurant growth trends remain consistent despite COVID second wave concerns
- Legal filings continue to indicate steady restaurant opening activity
- Weekly permit and incorporation filings show stable expansion patterns
- Early-stage filings provide indicators of restaurants opening soon
- Longitudinal filing patterns suggest ongoing industry resilience
Legal filings reflect new restaurant openings derived from DBA registrations, LLC formations, and permit activity.
| Legal Filings Week ending 12/17/2020 | |||||
| DBA\’s | Incs & LLC\’s | Total Permits and Licenses | Total Raw | Total Net Issued | |
| 12/17/2020 | 451 | 651 | 84 | 1226 | 392 |
| 12/10/2020 | 368 | 305 | 98 | 771 | 419 |
| 12/3/2020 | 809 | 336 | 119 | 1264 | 469 |
| 11/19/2020 | 416 | 476 | 111 | 1003 | 446 |
| 11/12/2020 | 469 | 376 | 112 | 957 | 526 |
| 11/5/2020 | 412 | 431 | 128 | 971 | 533 |
| 10/29/2020 | 377 | 492 | 96 | 965 | 430 |
| 10/22/2020 | 558 | 417 | 105 | 1080 | 550 |
| 10/15/2020 | 479 | 548 | 102 | 1129 | 530 |
| 10/8/2020 | 575 | 538 | 124 | 1237 | 548 |
| 10/1/2020 | 440 | 402 | 82 | 924 | 450 |
| 9/24/2020 | 532 | 374 | 100 | 1006 | 525 |
| 9/17/2020 | 454 | 467 | 101 | 1022 | 433 |
| 9/10/2020 | 377 | 510 | 115 | 1002 | 406 |
| 9/3/2020 | 377 | 571 | 108 | 1056 | 400 |
| 8/27/2020 | 508 | 411 | 131 | 1050 | 503 |
| 8/20/2020 | 446 | 431 | 101 | 978 | 433 |
| 8/13/2020 | 477 | 473 | 116 | 1066 | 502 |
| 8/6/2020 | 553 | 445 | 80 | 1158 | 462 |
| 7/30/2020 | 578 | 258 | 78 | 992 | 503 |
| 7/23/2020 | 327 | 397 | 86 | 724 | 358 |
| 7/16/2020 | 389 | 444 | 125 | 958 | 474 |
| 7/9/2020 | 722 | 360 | 143 | 1368 | 582 |
| 6/25/2020 | 296 | 311 | 104 | 711 | 354 |
| 6/18/2020 | 433 | 382 | 95 | 815 | 396 |
| 6/11/2020 | 265 | 98 | 67 | 497 | 264 |
| 6/4/2020 | 447 | 235 | 80 | 762 | 358 |
| 5/28/2020 | 414 | 187 | 90 | 691 | 316 |
| 5/21/2020 | 317 | 374 | 85 | 776 | 304 |
| 5/14/2020 | 352 | 350 | 99 | 801 | 356 |
| 5/7/2020 | 403 | 186 | 98 | 679 | 316 |
| 4/30/2020 | 337 | 217 | 124 | 678 | 324 |
| 4/23/2020 | 396 | 464 | 110 | 970 | 385 |
| 4/16/2020 | 405 | 300 | 133 | 839 | 532 |
| 4/9/2020 | 385 | 197 | 109 | 691 | 192 |
| 4/2/2020 | 130 | 371 | 133 | 639 | 327 |
| 3/26/2020 | 160 | 524 | 160 | 844 | 301 |
Pre-Opening Restaurant Sales Leads
Legal filings such as DBA registrations, LLC formations, and permit applications continue to provide early indicators of restaurants opening soon, even during periods of economic uncertainty. Companies using structured restaurant leads and foodservice leads data often analyze longitudinal filing patterns to identify consistent restaurant expansion trends across independent operators, franchise groups, and multi unit concepts.