Sales at Alberta’s restaurants and bars finally rose above their pre-pandemic level in August.

Released today, Statistics Canada’s Monthly Survey of Food Services and Drinking Places found that seasonally adjusted restaurant and bar sales in Alberta grew for the third month in a row, rising by 7.7% in August to reach $859 million.

This was the first time monthly sales have been above the pre-pandemic bar set in February 2020.

While good news, year-to-date sales were still almost $1.2 billion (18.0%) below they were in 2019.

Seasonally adjusted sales increased in every province in August with the national total rising by 5.6%. Sales were higher than before the pandemic in every province except for Ontario.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The Toronto Blue Jays are the only Canadian MLB team to win the World Series. They won the series two years in a row in 1992 and 1993.

Today’s trivia question: What is the most popular menu item at McDonalds?