The federal government shutdown is having a negative effect on D.C. restaurants. In a study by Avero, a leading provider of analytic software to the hospitality industry, D.C. restaurants saw traffic slow 7.6 percent in year-over-year sales in the first week of October. Some restaurants reported slower than usual lunch hours, while those on federal property were completely shutdown.

Avero tracked 75 full-service restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and other food and beverge operations in the D.C. area during the first week of October. Sixty percent of those studied were full-service restaurants.

Avero found that the lunch and breakfast meal periods specifically struggled during the first week of the shutdown.  With the loss of “power” lunches and meetings, D.C. restaurants had problems keeping traffic up. Some restaurants were hosting longer happy hours and other promotions to drive business.

Whether people are celebrating time off work or drinking away their sorrows, beverage sales increased 3.1 percent since the start of the shutdown. Avero, http://www.averoinc.com/,  tracked similar trends with Hurricane Sandy and New York restaurants.