Mother's Day is one of the busiest days of the year for Fresno restaurants, according to new data.

For some restaurateurs, Sunday is the Super Bowl.

Maybe not the one with the football, but for Symone Tellawi, owner/operator of Fresno Breakfast House, Mother’s Day is just as crucial.

“For us, it’s our most important and busiest day of the year,” Tellawi said. “We prepare all year for this.”

Consumer spending on Mother’s Day outpaces that of Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, according to Womply, a data analysis website that partners with credit card processors to crunch restaurant transaction trends.

The celebration of moms everywhere is so big that Sunday and Saturday represent the No. 1 and No. 2 biggest grossing revenue days for restaurants in California.

Compared to a typical day, consumer spending increases by 74% on Mother’s Day in the Golden State.

In addition to gross revenue, Womply also found an increase in average ticket price. In the U.S. the winner of the battle of who gets the check ends up paying 42% more on Mother’s Day than on a typical day, spending an average of $42 a ticket.

In Fresno, the average bill was $30.53, up 48% from an average day.

Fresno restaurants see average revenue of $1,851 on Mother’s Day, up 68% from the average daily take of $1,099, according to Womply. The number of customer transactions in Fresno is 61, up 14% from the typical 53 per day.

But capturing those sales is no easy feat. Because consumers have so many eateries to choose from, restaurants have to be able to meet increased demand while maintaining quality. While they want to get as many people as possible through the doors, they also want to make sure guests are comfortable and don’t feel rushed.

“Being prepared is half the battle,” Tellawi said.

Six weeks before the big day, the staff at Fresno Breakfast House began planning out the menu for their Mother’s Day brunch buffet. While they want to provide the breakfast food that has made The Fresno Breakfast House famous, they also want to “make something special,” she said.

“We don’t want to be pretentious, but we want to give people a good variety,” she added.

For breakfast, the buffet menu includes chilaquiles with homemade tortilla chips, refried beans and queso fresco along with other breakfast foods. For lunch, there’s chicken Marsala, lemon caper salad and tri-tip to accompany their usual fare.

They take reservations for groups of eight and above. In Fresno, Tellawi said the reservations typically come in late. They trickle in early the week before, and by week’s end, they are usually booked full.

Though it dominates in terms of daily revenue, Mother’s Day isn’t the busiest day of the year for restaurants in Fresno, according to Womply. That distinction goes to March 23 in the midst of NCAA basketball March Madness, with 74 average daily transactions.

According to Womply, here were the top days of 2018 for Fresno restaurants, ranked by total dollars spent:

 

No. 1

Friday, March 23, 2018 (March Madness)

Increase of 54% in total dollar spent at restaurants in Fresno

93% of restaurants were open

Averages among restaurants on that day:

$1,587 revenue (44% increase)

74 transactions (39% increase)

$21.44 average ticket (4% increase)

 

No. 2

Friday, May 18, 2018

Increase of 53% in total dollars spent at restaurants in Fresno

97% of restaurants were open

Averages among restaurants on that day:

$1,498 revenue (36% increase)

70 transactions (31% increase)

$21.49 average ticket (4% increase)

 

No. 3

Friday, March 30, 2018

Increase of 50% in total dollars spent at restaurants in Fresno

94% of restaurants were open

Averages among restaurants on that day:

$1,520 revenue (38% increase)

65 transactions (22% increase)

$23.40 average ticket (13% increase)

 

No. 4

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Increase of 49% in total dollars spent at restaurants in Fresno

88% of restaurants were open

Averages among restaurants on that day

$1,606 revenue (46% increase)

66 transactions (24% increase)

$24.24 average ticket (17% increase)

 

No. 5

Sunday, May 13, 2018 (Mother’s Day)

Increase of 48% in total dollars spent at restaurants in Fresno

76% of restaurants were open

Averages among restaurants on that day

$1,851 revenue (68% increase)

61 transactions (14% increase)

$30.53 average ticket (48% increase)