0818 ET - The Easter bunny came early this year, with the holiday falling in early April versus late in month last year. The shift will skew year-over-year restaurant traffic and same-store sales comparisons, at least until the calendar normalizes, Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks says in a research note. Early readouts show full-service chains with broad appeal and brunch exposure--such as First Watch Restaurant Group, BJ's Restaurants, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Cheesecake Factory--saw material jumps in traffic around the holiday. On the other hand, fast-casual and quick-service chains including Cava Group and WingStop that were closed for Easter saw disruptions. Brooks cautions that the data will remain difficult to interpret until full-month trends come into view. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 10, 2026 08:18 ET (12:18 GMT)

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