Those epic Patriots playoff games, helping boost restaurant and bar sales at the start of the year, are not walking through that door.

And not nearly as many customers walked through local restaurants’ front doors in January, according to a federal economic report that blamed a popular health trend.

Area restaurants had a slower-than-usual January, reads the Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston district. The Beige Book evaluates regional economic conditions and prospects, gathering information from each district’s sources.

“A Massachusetts restaurant industry contact reported an exceptionally weak January — attributed to the growing popularity of ‘Dry January’ and other New Year’s resolutions — but also noted there was a marked rebound in February to date,” reads the Federal Reserve report.

“Restaurants were optimistic for the rest of 2024, and retailers were at least cautiously optimistic,” the report later adds. “However, contacts in both types of business emphasized that demand would continue to be marked by a high degree of price consciousness.”

People who commit to Dry January do not drink alcohol for the first month of the year.

The health trend is getting more popular, according to a recent poll from Morning Consult. About 21% of U.S. adults who are 21-plus said they were participating in Dry January earlier this year, which was up 6 points from last year.

January restaurant sales were down from the previous year, according to operators across the region who spoke with the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.

“January was particularly quiet for many,” MRA President and CEO Stephen Clark told the Herald, adding that Dry January likely led to a loss of sales at alcohol-only places.

Clark also noted the impact of higher grocery store bills on diners.

“And after the holidays when people spent more, there’s less money to go around, and less money to be spent at restaurants,” Clark added.

While it was a sleepy January for eateries, optimism for the year is “high,” Clark said. He pointed to the conventions that are coming to Boston throughout the year, leading to big business for area restaurants.

Meanwhile, the restaurant industry is going through some challenges, he said. Everything is more expensive, from credit card fees to food costs to health insurance costs.

“It’s much harder to run your operation and it’s less profitable,” Clark said. “You’re working harder to make less.”

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The Federal Reserve report also dives into the state of the real estate market. Local residential realtors “expressed growing optimism” with property listings and pending home sales rising.

“Residential real estate showed signs of positive momentum, as pending home sales increased modestly of late and by significant margins relative to one year earlier,” the report reads. “Commercial real estate activity was flat on average.

“On balance, the outlook was cautiously optimistic, with many contacts expecting activity to increase in the second half of 2024,” the report adds. “The exception was the outlook for commercial real estate, which remained relatively weak — especially for the office sector — though it did not worsen any further.”