Business Dining Outlook 2026: Key Trends Shaping the Restaurant Industry 

Executive Summary 

The restaurant industry is among the first to feel the pinch when consumer spending contracts. Operators that respond to consumer pullbacks with menu engineering, value wars, and increased marketing spend are missing a big part of the overall picture: the business dining sector. 

This $250 billion market represents nearly a quarter of U.S. food-away-from-home spend and is gaining momentum as a reliable growth engine in a bifurcated economy. Dinova’s Spring 2026 State of Business Dining Report data showed YOY business sales growth outpacing consumer growth in Q1.  

That trend held strong in the Q2 business dining data. Here is a closer look at the latest numbers and what’s shaping them. 

Business Dining in 2026: The Current Landscape 

In Q2 2026, YOY business dining grew 6% while traffic increased by 3%. Technomic’s latest consumer projections showed more modest spend growth and flat foot traffic. 

Q2 Market Performance at a Glance 

• April: Business dining momentum continued to build, with 7.1% spend growth and 4% traffic growth.  

• May: Growth held steady. Business dining spend grew 1.8% while traffic stayed essentially flat. 
• June: Sales rebounded sharply with 9.1% growth, while traffic grew 5.7%. In the first half of 2026, June saw the strongest YOY performance. 

What’s Driving Business Dining in 2026? 

The biggest reason business dining is outperforming consumer spend in an uncertain economy? Business dining is not discretionary. It’s seen as a strategic investment. Business travel activity also strongly affects business dining performance, as dining is the third-largest travel expense category. 

Business Travel Maintains Momentum 

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) predicts that annual U.S. business travel spending will hit $423 billion (6.7% growth) this year. Travel volume in North America is expected to increase 1.8% in 2026—roughly 9 million more business trips driving demand for client entertaining, private dining, corporate catering, and on-the-go meals. 

Business travelers in the GBTA’s survey agree with the optimistic travel outlook; 28% expect to travel more in 2026 for client meetings, sales pitches, project work, implementations, and more. 

Strong business investment, particularly in AI and technology infrastructure, is largely fueling this growth in travel activity. 

Not All Sectors Are Affected the Same Way 

Business dining growth is not uniform, as business trends and economic conditions impact markets differently. While Dinova’s data shows overall growth in U.S. business dining spend, it has diverged sharply by industry in 2025 and 2026. 

Some sectors pulled back in 2025, while others maintained momentum: 

• Growing: Financials (+10.7%), Information Technology (+7.1%), Health Care (+5.6%), Industrials (+4.1%). 
• Facing headwinds: Consumer Staples (-9.8%), Materials (-4.3%), Consumer Discretionary (-3.1%), Energy (-1.7%). 

Key Takeaways  

Amid mixed economic signals and a relentless news cycle, protecting margins increasingly means knowing where spending remains resilient. The data continues to point to the business dining segment. As consumer pullback persists, business investment and travel remain steady, keeping corporate dining in growth territory. 

Q1 saw business dining sales grow steadily each month, peaking at 8.5% YOY growth in March. Even as growth moderated in April and May, the numbers stayed positive. 

As business travel momentum carries into Q2, seasonal tailwinds are ahead. Holiday gatherings, corporate gifting, and continued return-to-office trends are all expected to drive a strong close to 2026.