U.S. public interest in going to a restaurant post COVID-19 as of March 2021

In March 2021, adults in the United States expressed a strong interest in going to a restaurant once the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was under control. Of the respondents surveyed, 30 percent stated that they were "very excited" about the opportunity to go to a restaurant and only six percent said that they were "not excited at all."

When will U.S. adults feel comfortable going out to eat again?

Although a significant number of adults in the United States expressed interest in revisiting restaurants after the coronavirus pandemic was under control, restaurant dining remained less common. From March 2020 onwards, the year-over-year daily change in seated U.S. restaurant diners showed a consistent decline over pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Online food delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic generated lockdown measures which made it harder for diners to eat inside restaurants. Subsequently, many diners in the United States ordered food online or through apps during the pandemic. During an April 2020 survey looking at the share of the U.S. public that ordered food online, by age, 18- to 29-year-old adults were the most likely to do so. Meanwhile, in the same month, the type of area where the U.S. public ordered the most food online was suburbia.