How Mother’s Day Became the Biggest Day of the Year for Restaurants

If your inbox, Instagram feeds, and Facebook pages have been inundated with Mother’s Day promotions this past week, you are not alone. 

Mother’s Day has become vital to the restaurant business. According to a new survey by Toast, the popular Boston-headquartered, cloud-based restaurant reservations platform, it is the highest-grossing Sunday of the entire year. Football Sundays, graduation celebrations, and even Father’s Day — another popular dining-out day — can’t compare. 

Based on 1,000 responses from a survey conducted from April 26 to April 27, data from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) backs it all up. According to the group, 43% of consumers will be eating out to celebrate, 34% of which say they’ll be dining out. 

Of course, on Mother's Day, it only makes sense for moms to indulge in a meal not of their making: According to Pew Research, "women do more cooking and grocery shopping than men" among U.S. couples.

The Toast survey also found that full-service restaurants see a stunning 51% increase in Mother’s Day revenue, compared with an average Sunday — considering that there are 14% more transactions on Mother’s Day than on a typical Sunday.

Thankfully, that also leads to a bigger check. Toast found that the average transaction size was 32% bigger on Mother’s Day than on an average Sunday. By far, brunch is the most popular meal to treat Mom to. The company also confirms that brunch gatherings make up 45% of Mother’s Day dining activity on its platform. (While the NRA’s numbers say 52% of consumers will be visiting restaurants for dinner instead.)

And when it comes to beverages, moms are fêted with either bubbly-filled flutes or mimosas. Toast said that sparkling wine sales rise a staggering 99% on Mother’s Day, compared with regular Sundays. ( By comparison, still wine sales increased by 15% on the holiday.) But interestingly, other alcoholic drinks don’t fare as well during Mother’s Day gatherings. Overall alcohol sales fall 12% on Mother’s Day — perhaps because so many children come along for family gatherings. 

While restaurants welcome Mother’s Day business, it’s a double-edged sword. Mother’s Day is a much-appreciated source of revenue heading into the summer months, but it’s also a crush that leaves staff exhausted — with some customers fuming at long wait times and crowded dining rooms.

According to Toast, the Mother’s Day surge means that restaurants need to be prepared. Since brunch is the big meal, they’ll need to staff up during midday hours, on the floor, in the kitchen, and in the bar. It’s probably a good idea to order a couple of extra cases of those fizzy wines too.

Customers, meanwhile, must know that they can’t always expect the kind of personal service they’d receive on a normal Sunday.