Lunch in Dallas is becoming a thing of the past, according to new report

DALLAS - The days of going out to lunch in Dallas could soon become a thing of the past, according to a new report.

Square released their annual spring quarterly restaurant report which showed Dallas to have a significant decrease in restaurant transactions for weekday lunches.

In Dallas weekday lunch (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) purchases dropped 7.3% from 2019 to 2023. This was the third-largest decrease in weekday lunch transactions of the 23 major cities measured. 

The report shows a major shift in restaurant spending from weekday lunches to weekend meals among the cities. 

Dallas saw a 6.6% increase in restaurant transactions on the weekend over the same time period.

This change is credited to the pandemic and the switch of office workers to hybrid and remote schedules. 

Although lunch transactions are down, happy hour has still remained a priority and is slightly above pre-pandemic levels. 

"Before COVID, consumers were going out more during the week to eat lunch by their office and grab drinks after work," said Ara Kharazian, Square Research Lead and principal developer of Square Payroll Index. "Now with remote work, restaurant spend has shifted to the weekend and we now see that weekend traffic is at its peak."