© 2026 ABC News

Eateries and bars registered $38.6 billion in sales on a seasonally-adjusted basis in May, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

\"PHOTO:
Al Bello/Getty Images
PHOTO: People eat dinner at the River House Grille on the Nautical Mile on June 10, 2020 in Freeport, N.Y.
>

Although that figure is nearly $9 billion more than reported in April, it was down $27 billion from previous sales levels in January and February, before the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.

April's sales volume of $29.9 billion at restaurants and bars recorded by the Census Bureau represented the lowest numbers since February 1983.

\"PHOTO:
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
PHOTO: Christy Schlesinger, right, picks up a carryout dinner order, May 29, 2020, as the District of Columbia loosens restrictions on restaurants that have been in place since March 25 because of the pandemic.
>

\"In recent years, May was typically the top sales month for restaurants, based on the unadjusted data,\" a National Restaurant Association official said. \"On average during the last five years, May sales at eating and drinking places were more than 5% higher than the average monthly sales volume for the entire year. This year, May sales were more than 40% lower than what would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic.\"

Sales at eating and drinking establishments were down more than $94 billion from expected levels between March and May.

\"PHOTO:Meredith
CJ Gunther/EPA via Shutterstock
PHOTO:Meredith Tipping (L) and Caroline Tipping (R) of the Boston Sail Loft Restaurant prepare for outdoor dining at the eatery in Boston, June 10, 020.
>

\"Add in the sharp reduction in spending at non-restaurant food service operations in the lodging, arts/entertainment/recreation, education, health care and retail sectors, and the total shortfall in restaurant and food service sales likely surpassed $120 billion during the last three months,\" the association official said.

The association's chief economist, Bruce Grindy, contributed to their report.

What to know about the coronavirus:

Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Business/restaurant-food-service-industry-lost-120b-due-pandemic/story?id=71301061","legacySlug":"/news/story/restaurant-food-service-industry-lost-120b-due-pandemic-71301061","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:53","publishDate":"06-17-2020","updatedTime":"19:08","updatedDate":"06-17-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Meredith Tipping (L) and Caroline Tipping (R) of the Boston Sail Loft Restaurant prepare for outdoor dining at the eatery in Boston, June 10, 020.","credit":"CJ Gunther/EPA via Shutterstock ","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/restaurant-1-sh-er-200617_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"6/17/2020 18:53:32 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":71301061,"headline":"Restaurant sales way down due to pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"RESTAURANT SURVEY","description":"The National Restaurant Association reports that May sales hit a new low. ","duration":"3:21","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200529_vod_orig_ra_restaurants2_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70952012","70814003","70926002"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 30, 2020","headline":"Major cities plan for outdoor dining as restaurants reopen for dining-in","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/cities-plan-increase-outdoor-dining-restaurants-reopen-70952012","id":70952012,"image":{"alt":"Major cities plan for outdoor dining as restaurants reopen for dining-in","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/patio-04-as-gty-200529_hpMain_16x9t_240.jpg","credit":"Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg via Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 21, 2020","headline":"'Buy this T-shirt' on Instagram and help your favorite bars and restaurants ","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/buy-shirt-instagram-favorite-bars-restaurants-70814003","id":70814003,"image":{"alt":"'Buy this T-shirt' on Instagram and help your favorite bars and restaurants ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/IGlocalbizbutton_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Kelly McCarthy","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 29, 2020","headline":"New parameters for restaurants eager to reopen amid COVID-19","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/parameters-restaurants-reopening-70926002","id":70926002,"image":{"alt":"New parameters for restaurants eager to reopen amid COVID-19","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/200528_vod_orig_ra_restaurants_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Restaurant sales way down due to pandemic","description":"The National Restaurant Association reports that May sales hit a new low. ","duration":"3:21","uploadDate":"06-17-2020","publication":"06-17-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200529_vod_orig_ra_restaurants2_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200529_vod_orig_ra_restaurants2_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/restaurant-food-service-industry-lost-120b-due-pandemic-71301061"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977374","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977531","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132962364","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132958371","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132932494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132927870","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132880952","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Restaurant sales way down due to pandemic","pubTime":"14:53","pubDate":"06-17-2020","modTime":"15:08","modDate":"06-17-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":71301061,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"Jessie DiMartino ","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Restaurant sales way down due to pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"RESTAURANT SURVEY","videoId":71301061,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/restaurant-food-service-industry-lost-120b-due-pandemic-71301061"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/71301061","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/71301061","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};