The restaurant industry faced its third consecutive month of declining same-store sales in August, according to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article.

The good news—there was a 0.8 percentage points improvement from the July result, and August was the second best month since April. Same-store traffic fell 2.7 percent but it was also the biggest increase in the months since February.

The quick service industry was the best performing segment based on same-store sales in August, but fine dining, fast casual, and casual dining segments all saw declines in August for same-store sales.

Regionally, California has been the best performing region for same-store sales, while the Southwest has been the worst region for the last six months.

“The U.S. economy continues to confound,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors and TDn2K economist. “Yes, growth is still OK, but each time it looks like it is starting to accelerate, something pulls it back.”

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