Albertans aren’t losing their appetite for eating and dining out.
According to data released on Monday by Statistics Canada, sales in the food services and drinking places sector rose to $772.7 million in May, up 0.6 per cent from April.
Sales were also up 0.1 per cent from May 2017.
Nationally, the federal agency said sales in the sector rose by 1.9 per cent to $5.9 billion.
“Higher sales at limited-service restaurants (+2.4 per cent) and full-service restaurants (+1.8 per cent) accounted for all of the increase. Slight decreases were reported in the special food services industry group (-0.1 per cent) and drinking places (-0.2 per cent),” explained StatsCan.
“Following decreases in the previous month, sales bounced back in most of the provinces, with the largest increases being in Ontario (+2.0 per cent), Quebec (+2.4 per cent) and British Columbia (+2.4 per cent). The only decreases were in Nova Scotia (-1.4 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (-0.6 per cent).”
On an annual basis, sales rose by 5.2 per cent in Canada.
Respected business writer Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald in various capacities, including 12 years as a senior business writer.
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