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Black Box Intelligence CEO Kelli Valade on the latest restaurant sales dataBlack Box Intelligence CEO Kelli Valade on the latest restaurant sales data

A delicate recovery is underway, and the most recent statistics will be presented at Restaurant Rise

Ron Ruggless, Senior Editor

May 21, 2020

2 Min Read
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Since restaurant industry sales bottomed out in April, Black Box Intelligence has been tracking the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic closures.

“Recovery is a delicate word,” said Kelli Valade, CEO and president of the Dallas-based Black Box Intelligence restaurant analytics firm. “We’re now showing every member, every operator who wants to engage with us, state-by-state what’s happening as states open back up.”

Questions remain about whether guests will trust restaurants enough to return and how confident they will be to do that, she said.

Valade will present the latest trends in her keynote presentation at noon CDT June 3. The session, “What the Data Shows: The state of the forever-changed restaurant industry,” is part of the Restaurants Rise free digital event, hosted by Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality June 2-5.

“This is an amazing opportunity to help the restaurants get better and help this industry get back on its feet,” Valade said.

Valade said operators pivoted quickly after states and cities in March began to impose restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus and adapted well to off-premise sales, but states are allowing phased increases in dine-in capacity.

“They [customers] may have forever cemented their belief in off-premise,” Valade noted, “but we do expect to see the tradeoff happen a little bit.”

Black Box tracks sales, traffic, workforce and guest statistics from more than 300 restaurant companies, and Valade she will present data from Black Box Financial Intelligence that will be only days old, same-store sales by region

Here’s a preview from Valade on what registrants can expect at Restaurant Rise.

 

Correction May 22, 2020: This story has been edited to correct the spelling of Kelli Valade.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless

About the Author

Ron Ruggless

Senior Editor, Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Hospitality

Ron Ruggless serves as a senior editor for Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN.com) and Restaurant Hospitality (Restaurant-Hospitality.com) online and print platforms. He joined NRN in 1992 after working 10 years in various roles at the Dallas Times Herald newspaper, including restaurant critic, assistant business editor, food editor and lifestyle editor. He also edited several printings of the Zagat Dining Guide for Dallas-Fort Worth, and his articles and photographs have appeared in Food & Wine, Food Network and Self magazines. 

Ron Ruggless’ areas of expertise include foodservice mergers, acquisitions, operations, supply chain, research and development and marketing. 

Ron Ruggless is a frequent moderator and panelist at industry events ranging from the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference to RestaurantSpaces, the Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers, the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group, local restaurant associations and the Horeca Professional Expo in Madrid, Spain.

Ron Ruggless’ experience:

Regional and Senior Editor, Informa Connect’s Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality (1992 to present)

Features Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1989-1991)

Restaurant Critic and Food Editor – Dallas Times Herald (1987-1988)

Editing Roles – Dallas Times Herald (1982-1987)

Editing Roles – Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (1980-1982)

Editing Roles – Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald (1978-1980)

Email: [email protected]

Social media:

Twitter@RonRuggless

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ronruggless

Instagram: @RonRuggless

TikTok: @RonRuggless

 

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