Is the end finally in sight? The partial return of on-premise hospitality last summer took a dive toward the end of the year as the virus surged and another wave of restrictions came to many parts of the country. But the floor of that drop was higher than the previous one, and the trend line is again moving in a positive direction—the most recent data from April show 2021 pushing back into a range comparable to 2019. As vaccines become more available, there is growing hope for the months to come.
Here are the latest available data from Nielsen BeverageTrak charting on-premise velocity, comparing the year to date with 2019 and pandemic-stricken 2020.