Fox News: reservations jump 30–40%

Mother’s Day brunch is now a real restaurant stress test. Not just a busy Sunday — basically the busiest kind of service many places run all year. This weekend, the signal was the same almost everywhere: families wanted a table, wanted it around noon, and often wanted it at the same handful of brunch spots. That’s why the headline number — reservations jumping 30% to 40% in some markets — landed so hard. ### Why was brunch the center of it? Brunch hits the sweet spot for this holiday. It feels celebratory, but it’s still cheaper and easier to organize than a big dinner. Restaurant operators told Fox News that Mother’s Day demand clusters around brunch because people want the “special occasion” feeling without turning the day into an all-night production, and OpenTable’s own Mother’s Day hub shows noon was the most popular dining time last year. ### Where did the 30% to 40% number come from? That figure came from restaurant operators talking about expected Mother’s Day booking jumps versus a normal baseline. Fox News cited hospitality consultant Anthony Mahon saying reservations could rise “by 30 or 40% at a minimum,” with restaurant strategist Bo Bryant adding that some places start filling Mother’s Day tables as early as 10 weeks out. That’s less a national audited stat than a very clear read on what operators were seeing in the market. (jammin999fm.com) ### Was that showing up outside Fox’s story? Yes — and that’s the part that makes the story sturdier. Resy said bookings were up nearly 30% as of midweek before the holiday, while OpenTable said reservations were trending up by double digits from last year. In Connecticut, NBC’s local station showed the same thing on the ground: packed restaurants, booked-out activities, and businesses dealing with a full holiday rush rather than a soft weekend bump. (jammin999fm.com) ### Why are families booking so early now? Because the best tables are scarce and everyone knows it. OpenTable said Mother’s Day was its biggest dining day of 2025, with dining up 12% year over year, more large parties, and a big jump in “Notify Me” alerts when reservations were gone. Once diners learn that the 11:30 a.m. or noon slot disappears first, they stop treating Mother’s Day like a casual same-week plan. It starts to look more like concert tickets. (tpr.org) ### What does this do to restaurants? It changes the whole operating model for the day. Restaurants streamline menus, lean into prix-fixe offers, and build service around faster table turns and larger family groups. Toast’s restaurant data shows why operators are willing to do that: Mother’s Day brings bigger checks, more transactions, and stronger sales for premium dishes like steak and seafood versus an average Sunday. (opentable.com) ### Is this just a brunch fad? Not really. It looks more like a broader “experience economy” habit settling into a holiday people already celebrate. OpenTable says 62% of Americans see dining out as an important part of Mother’s Day, and the National Restaurant Association projected 80 million adults would dine out for the holiday in 2026, up from 75 million in 2025. So the crowding isn’t random — it’s demand consolidating around one very specific ritual. (jammin999fm.com) ### What’s the catch for diners? The catch is that “I’ll just book something this week” stops working. Popular brunch windows vanish first, large parties get squeezed hardest, and diners who wait end up with odd times, backup neighborhoods, or dinner instead of brunch. OpenTable’s own pitch around Mother’s Day now includes alerts for canceled tables, which tells you how competitive the holiday has become. ### Bottom line? This wasn’t just one flashy Fox News number. (opentable.com) The broader pattern held up — Mother’s Day has become a peak-demand restaurant event, and brunch is the choke point. If that keeps holding, the real shift is simple: for a lot of families, Mother’s Day dining is no longer spontaneous. It’s planned.