As a result of waning optimism among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association's (NRA) Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) declined for the third consecutive month in June. The RPI, a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry, fell 0.3 percent from May's index level to reach 99.5 in June. This is the second consecutive month the RPI has been below 100.

Restaurant operators reported a net decline in same-store sales in June, though the results were a modest improvement from the May performance. Thirty-nine percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between June 2009 and June 2010, up from 35 percent of operators who reported higher sales in May. Additionally, 33 percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between June 2009 and June 2010, matching the proportion who reported higher customer traffic in May. Similarly, 43 percent of operators reported a traffic decline in June, unchanged from the proportion who reported lower traffic in May.

Forty-three percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, down slightly from 45 percent who reported similarly last month.

For complete data, visit www.restaurant.org/trendmapper.