Office attendance edges lower; Restaurant chains face sales slowdown

Ten tracked U.S. regions averaged 55.6% of their pre-pandemic office attendance levels for the week ended Sept. 17, Kastle Systems reported. That was just slightly below the post-pandemic peak of 55.8% reached in the prior week.

Based on anonymous keycard data from the security technology firm’s office property clients, the latest figures showed Austin, Texas, well ahead of other tracked regions at 71.5% of the pre-pandemic level. It was followed by Dallas at 62.8%, Houston at 61.7% and Chicago at 58.7%.

Figures for most regions have been rising over the past few months as companies increase their in-office work requirements while scaling back on hybrid and remote schedules. Falls Church, Virginia-based Kastle Systems does not release proprietary data on client property types or industries but said it tracks 2,600 buildings and more than 40,000 tenant offices nationwide.

U.S. restaurant sales have held up relatively well this year despite consumer jitters over tariffs and inflation, though annual sales growth for major chains is likely to reach just 2.8% for 2025. While projected to reach $478 billion, growth would be short of the 3.1% rate for 2024 and fall well below the 7.8% annual gain in 2023, according to industry consulting firm Technomic.

Tracking the largest 1,500 chains by revenue, analysts said the fast-growing chicken category is expected to lead full-year 2025 growth at 6.9%, though that would be lower than the 9% figure for 2024. Other notable gainers this year are expected to include coffee and Mexican fare, while burger, sandwich and pizza chains are each on track for a second straight year of essentially flat sales.

Citing government data, the National Restaurant Association noted overall second-quarter U.S. spending at food and drinking places still outpaced levels for the same quarter between 2010 and 2019, topping $1.2 trillion. The trade group said spending was driven in part by elevated prices, and fueled mainly by upper-income households, though overall trends present “a very encouraging sign.”