Lunch dining in Atlanta is down compared to before the pandemic

Why it matters: Remote and hybrid work has changed people's weekday habits, including how often they visit the restaurants and bars that once depended on the traffic.

Context: Recent reports from the National Restaurant Association suggest consumers' overall restaurant routines are returning to pre-pandemic norms, which makes the lunchtime lag more striking.

Yes, but: People may be lunching out less, but they're spending more.

• The average lunch check average was up 46% between the first quarter of 2019 and the same period this year in the 19 metropolitan regions Toast analyzed.

By the numbers: That worked out to an average lunch tab of $22 for takeout, $24 for dine-in and $31 if the dine-in restaurant was full service, all not including tax and tip.

• Dine-in accounts for 70% of all lunch transactions, but it's lost ground since 2019 to takeout (up 7%) and delivery (up 2%).

The intrigue: When it comes to Georgians' weekday lunch tabs, 15% of ticket items are booze.

• The liquid lunches don't make us too generous, however: Atlantans on average tip 18.6% on the bill, just two-tenths higher the national average.

Worth noting: Friday, unsurprisingly, is the busiest day for weekday lunch. So where are we lunching today, Atlanta?