Pandemic shifts Richmond dining habits: weekday lunches down, weekend meals rise

If you needed a sign to say no to another weekday lunch, this is it.

The big picture: Richmonders are slowly saying goodbye to the pre-pandemic era of getting lunch by the office and grabbing happy hour drinks after work, per Square data.

• Instead, that restaurant spending is shifting to the weekend.
• It reflects a trend of pandemic behavior changes — and potentially an important insight for restaurants as they continue adapting to thrive.

Here's the numbers breakdown looking at the share of purchases from food and drink establishments using Square.

• Weekday lunch (11am-2pm) fell from 21% in 2019 to 19% in 2023.
• Happy hour (weekdays 4-6pm) dropped from 7% in 2019 to 6% last year.
• The weekend (Saturday and Sunday) rose from 35% in 2019 to 36% in 2023.

Between the lines: The weekend always had our hearts, but now, even more so.

• Though not before 10am since most Richmond residents are not early morning breakfast people .

The bottom line: See you at brunch — likely at Joe's Inn or Lulu's .