After posting a 4.5% increase in January, seasonally-adjusted restaurant and bar sales in Alberta pulled back in February by 0.5%.

This is only the third drop in sales in 13 months.

Nationally, sales in February were off by 0.1% with revenue down in six provinces.

Sales remain, however, higher than a year ago and well above where they were before the pandemic.

In Alberta, year-over-year sales were 19.0% higher than in February 2022 while national sales were up by 22.5%.

In the absence of corresponding data on the operating costs of restaurants and bars, we cannot determine if the higher sales are leading to higher profits, but more revenue is definitely a better sign than less.

And, given the effort to bring inflation back down to its 2% target, some slippage in restaurant and bar sales is expected as higher interest rates weigh on the overall economy and reduce the income individuals and families have available for things like eating out.

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to the Financial Post, George Weston Ltd. was the sixth largest corporation in Canada (by revenue) last year and, at 215,298, had the most employees of any corporation in Canada.

Today’s trivia question: According to The world’ s 50 Best Restaurants website, which city is home to the world’s best restaurant as of 2022?