Half of restaurants’ orders come from just 7% of guests

As Norm, Frasier, and the rest of the Cheers gang knew well, sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name. Now data from Toast, the restaurant software platform, and Resy, the reservation platform, shows just how important regulars are to restaurants.

Just 7% of regulars—or “multi-visit diners,” in restaurant parlance—account for as much as 50% of order volume, according to the report.

Besides their outsized spending power, there are plenty of reasons for restaurants to keep regulars happy, including their propensity for making reservations.

“When you know who’s coming and when, you can make smarter decisions about everything from staffing to food prep,” OpenTable explains on its website. “Your kitchen team can work more efficiently with prep lists, while your front-of-house staff can provide more attentive service since they know what to expect.”

Among regulars, 83% make reservations, compared to just 48% of non-regulars, according to the new Toast/Resy report.

They’re better tippers, too. More than 3 out of 4 diners (77%) report tipping better at restaurants where they’re regulars.

The thing regulars most value is—cue the Cheers theme—staff remembering their names or orders, followed by points-based loyalty program rewards, and personalized offers based on menu preferences.

As for why diners stop being regulars at restaurants, it will come as no surprise that the top reason is food quality declining, followed by price increases and the service going downhill.

The report is based on multiple data sets including Q1 2026 restaurant transaction data from Toast, reservations data from Resy for the two years ending December 31, 2025, and an April Pollfish survey of 1,500 US diners.

Keeping regulars coming back can be a challenge. Among those who dine at QSR, fast-casual, and fast food restaurants, 33% said their favorite restaurant changed in the last 12 months, according to a 2025 survey from Tillster, which provides commerce solutions to QSR and fast-casual brands.

The most popular reason they changed faves was because the new restaurant had “better food” (46%) and “better value” (40%).