The people who power the local economy started the year on the right foot. The Yelp Economic Average rose by eight tenths of a point in the first… Read more
Ben Silver is a magician. Ben Silver is a sommelier. Ben Silver is one of a kind. There may be other Americans who operate a magic business and also operate a sommelier business. Silver operates one business, Ben Silver Magic, that offers magic and sommelier services, to the same customers on the same night—often mixing… Read more
We’re excited to announce our list of Yelp’s Top 50 Family-Friendly Restaurants in the DMV for 2019! We’ve scoured the Metropolitan DC area to find the top-rated local spots to dine with kiddos in tow. From restaurants where the menu options are plentiful, to spots with play areas just for the littles, this list has something for… Read more
This year’s tax season will be a doozy. The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” enacted in 2017, was the largest overhaul in decades, changing everything from income-tax rates to mortgage-interest deductions. According to The Wall Street Journal, tax filings under the new law got off to a slower start than they did last year, signaling… Read more
—Carl Bialik, Samuel Hansen, Peter Weir, Liina Potter, and Travis Brooks contributed to this analysis. Interactive developed by The DataFace.
From sandwich makers to sporting-goods sellers, business sectors throughout the economy are slumping, according to Yelp data. Most U.S. businesses are small businesses. How are they doing? Until now, it’s been hard to say. Today’s data resources for measuring economic health generally either focus on giant corporations or move at a glacial pace. Yelp has… Read more
We keep reading that the U.S. is more divided than ever politically. And that may be so. But even if all politics is local, not all local is politics. When Americans come to Yelp to find the best park or place to hike in their hometown — or whichever town they’re in — they’re probably… Read more
In 2011, the idea of Americans eating plant-based burger “meat” seemed like a longshot. But the creators of the Impossible Burger, a vegan alternative, bet they could win over American palates by engineering a substitute burger that bleeds and sizzles like the real thing. With nearly $400 million secured in funding, expansion to major chains,… Read more
Today is National Cat Day! Whether you’re looking for the purrr-fect cat to adopt or simply enjoy snuggling with a feline while working, cat cafes are the latest trend among coffee and animal lovers. One of the world’s first cat cafes opened back in 1998 in Taipei, Taiwan. Loosely translated as “Kitten Garden,” this cafe… Read more
The first day of fall is right around the corner! On September 22, we’ll be welcoming sweaters back into our wardrobe and saying goodbye to green leaves. Starbucks kicked off the fall season with its famed Pumpkin Spice Latte (or PSL for those in the know) on August 28 this year — the earliest it’s… Read more
This post originally appeared on the Yelp Data Science Medium blog, Locally Optimal. Some of my friends who rely on Yelp reviews are amazed at the variety of opinions: Many can only imagine writing a review about a terrible experience or a transcendent one. And terrible experiences, like transcendent ones, are rare. We love users… Read more