The open rate of on-premise establishments tracked by BeerBoard hit 97% over the weekend (April 21-24), the highest recorded rate since the firm began tracking in May 2020.
The open rate of the country’s bars and restaurants plummeted to as low as 16% during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has stayed at or above 90% since the weekend of January 28-21, 2021 (with the exception of January 6-9, which was 89%). Following the first weekend of 2022, the national open rate has increased during every period.
With the new record rate, BeerBoard said it will no longer include the stat in its weekly reports.
“We will continue to monitor, and should status warrant, we will reintroduce to the reporting,” BeerBoard said in its report.
Volume per location declined for the second weekend in a row (-6.4% compared to the previous period), after a -3.5% decrease over the weekend of April 7-10. In the same weekend of 2021, volume had increased +3% versus the period before.
Georgia (-21%) recorded the largest average decline in volume per location of the 11 observed states, followed by Tennessee (-10.1%), Michigan and Florida (both -7.5%).
Rate of sale (ROS) also fell nationally for the second straight period, declining -6.5% week-over-week, after a -3.9% decrease April 7-10. Again, Georgia recorded the largest decrease in ROS (-18.9%), followed by Tennessee (-7.8%) and Michigan (-7.4%). Nationally, ROS declined -2.5% compared to the same weekend in 2021.
The average number of taps per location decreased from 20 to 19 over the weekend (-5%), due to decreases in tap handles in Georgia (-5.9%) and Illinois (-5.6%). All other observed states maintained the average number of taps. Nationally, the average number of taps per location is still above 2021 levels (+5.6% compared to the same weekend in 2021).
The percentage of taps pouring also contracted, declining -1.4% to 73% versus the weekend before. Eight of the 11 tracked states recorded declines, led by Illinois (-2.8%) and New York (-2.7%). Michigan, Minnesota and Nevada were unchanged.