According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s advanced monthly sales announcement yesterday, estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for May were $444.9 billion, an increase of 1.2 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month, and 2.7 percent (±0.9%) above May 2014. Total sales for the March 2015 through May 2015 period were up 2.1 percent (±0.7%) from the same period a year ago.

The census data also revealed that during the last five months the Food Services & Drinking Places category had the biggest jump in spending, increasing 8.9% compared to 2014. Hungry consumers spent $55+ million in restaurants and bars, and that increased consumption is translating into good news for real estate.

JLL’s Director of Research Aaron Ahlburn says, “the success of food-related stores has been a significant factor for real estate for years, and now four of the five expanding retail categories are food-related. Their aggregate store opening plans, factoring average store square-footage suggests a potential retail real estate impact of 55.4 million square feet.”

Learn more about how a taste for food leads to an appetite for real estate in JLL’s Foodie Nation Report