In a tough restaurant market, business dining is a bright spot
Spending is outpacing the broader industry as in-office work and business travel bounce back, according to a report from Dinova.
June 2, 2026
It’s been a tough year and a half for the restaurant industry at large. War, inflation and a general sense of uncertainty have hurt consumer sentiment and spending, including at restaurants.
But there are pockets of the industry that have done better than others. And business dining appears to be one of them.
According to a new report from business dining network Dinova, the expense account set has remained resilient while consumers overall have pulled back on dining out. In 2025, total business dining spending rose 3.8% and traffic was flat, while total consumer restaurant spending rose 2.8%, with traffic down 0.8%.
Dinova defines business dining in this case as restaurant transactions that are tied to business activity. That includes meals purchased while traveling, meals with clients or colleagues, expense account meals, team lunches, office catering and more.
These occasions account for a significant piece of restaurant revenue—about $250 billion a year, or nearly 23% of food-away-from-home spending in the U.S., according to Dinova.
There are a few factors driving growth for business dining right now. Employees continue to return to the office post-pandemic, which has boosted demand for catering and lunch programs, now offered by many companies as an on-site perk.
In-person events and business travel have also bounced back. More than half of professional gatherings are expected to be face-to-face this year, and business travel spending is projected to hit a record high, per Dinova. All of those travelers will need someplace for themselves and their clients to eat, which should be good for restaurants.
Indeed, after a slow start to the year caused by weather, travel disruptions and budget resets, business dining surged in February and March. In March, sales grew by 8.5% and traffic increased 5.3% year over year, according to Dinova.
This tends to benefit independent restaurants, by the way, which are on the receiving end of 72% of business dining spending.
But, much like the broader restaurant landscape, business dining is not happening equally across industry and locale.
But businesses that are more exposed to the economic downturn, like those focused on consumer goods and energy, are paring back their dining budgets. That includes a 9.8% year over year decline in business dining at consumer-staples companies and a 3.1% drop in the consumer discretionary sector, according to Dinova.
That trend is reflected geographically as well. Tech and finance hubs like San Francisco, Boston and New York City are seeing an uptick in business dining. Secondary markets like Chattanooga and Louisville are also seeing more action as they become increasingly popular destinations for events and conferences.
Spending is trending down, however, in Houston, an energy center, as well as San Diego and Washington, D.C.
The State of Business Dining Report is based on Dinova data from 27 major metro markets, more than 500 companies and millions of business dining transactions, as well as IRS meal expense benchmarks, International Monetary Fund GDP data, Bureau of Economic Analysis data and chain-restaurant data from Technomic, a sibling company of Nation’s Restaurant News.
About the Author
Joe Guszkowski
Senior editor, Restaurant Business
Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
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