Square Data Reveals How Macros, Merch, and Midnight Are Reshaping Dining
MARKETINGHOSPITALITY
Square’s latest restaurant data highlights a year of contrasts: consumers are balancing wellness and nightlife.
The food and beverage industry in 2025 is defined by a compelling set of consumer contrasts. Diners are simultaneously pursuing rigorous wellness goals and embracing late-night indulgence, all while showing fierce loyalty to their favorite local haunts by buying their branded hoodies.
New data from Square reveals how these three major trends, Wellness, Nightlife, and Merchandise are forcing restaurant operators to diversify revenue streams and adopt smart technology to keep pace with evolving consumer demand.
1. Menus Bulk Up on Macros (The Wellness Push)
The rise of health consciousness has consumers actively seeking "functional" menu items that offer added wellness benefits. Square’s data confirms that the era of "proteinmaxxing" is now mainstream dining:
Protein Surge: In Q3 2025, orders for menu items containing the word "protein" were up 20.6% year-over-year. This trend is particularly strong at full-service restaurants and cafés, where protein-focused orders saw a 25.4% and 22% increase, respectively.
The Matcha Bloom: Another example of functional beverages gaining ground is matcha, which saw orders jump 36.5% in Q3 YoY. The matcha movement has expanded beyond cafés, with orders up 47.5% at ice cream shops and 40% at bakeries, signaling its universal appeal.
As Nicholas Stone, Founder and Executive Chairman of Square seller Bluestone Lane, noted, health-forward items "are what's keeping it exciting for consumers." Square's own AI tools help restaurants track which items, like protein smoothies or matcha lattes, are resonating, allowing them to keep their menus aligned with these accelerated trends.
2. Nightlife Thrives, and Tipping Peaks
The pursuit of wellness by day is often balanced by a love for late-night socializing. Square's analysis of in-person restaurant and bar transactions after 7 PM shows nightlife is booming, especially in emerging markets:
Emerging Nightlife Hubs: While Miami remains strong, cities like Detroit (28.4% late-night transactions) and Fayetteville, AR (24.2%) are leading the late-night transaction surge.
Generous Customers: Square data also revealed that late-night patrons are significantly more generous. Tips steadily increase as the night goes on, peaking at 2 AM when customers leave an average of 18.55% overall (and nearly 19.5% at bars specifically), well above the average overall tip rate of 14.99%.
3. Merch Becomes the New Marketing
Savvy bar, brewery, and café operators are finding that expanding beyond food service is essential for resilience. Branded merchandise provides a solution, offering higher margins and built-in marketing.
As of Q3 2025, over 56.5% of breweries and 22.9% of cafés are selling merch like t-shirts (the most popular item at 58.2% of sales) and hats.
“Resilient restaurant operators are smartly looking beyond traditional revenue streams, and branded merchandise offers an opportunity with typically higher margins than food service—and with marketing built-in,” said Ming-Tai Huh, Head of Food and Beverage at Square.
By utilizing platforms like Square, businesses can seamlessly switch between restaurant and retail modes, easily setting up e-commerce for merch sales without adding operational complexity. The key takeaway for 2025 is clear: the modern food and beverage business thrives by catering to the complex, diverse demands of its customers across all hours and all revenue streams.