That's my experience too

Yes, it's nuts. We eat out maybe once a month now, and it has to be either a special occasion or a night where everyone is too exhausted to cook

Another factor is some previously popular ones have gotten surrounded by bad elements enough where stop going to them, at least after dusk. Bad elements can include vagrants and mentally ill, not just criminal minded. So what you also need to look at is whether a particular restaurant is struggling, or is it a chain? A restaurant of a franchise can be doing gang busters in an area near a sales market; one of the same chain in an area that has deproved can be fading.

YouBet said:

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The fast food and fast casual places have all reported large drops in business from younger people and those under certain income levels. All part of the K economy.

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Very true.

I frequent fast-casual places for lunch since they're healthier than fast food, and I've seen there be fewer and fewer people in them as time has gone by.

It says a lot when an increase of a buck or two for a meal can make things too expensive for people.

When people max out their credit cards on eating out purchases, then you will see much more trouble for the restaurants.

Omperlodge said:

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I think how they have applied inflation has hurt their business more than anything else. They want to maintain their old margins at new higher costs. For instance, if your costs where $3 and you sold it for $10 you made $7. Now your costs are $6 and instead of going to $13 you go to $20. This runs off customers and you don't even notice it at first because those that do still come are covering the 50% drop in customers. Then those stop coming and you go out of business.

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It does seem to vary. Know of one company so far just `absorbing' the tariff costs. They haven't passed on to their customers so far. I wonder what the calculus is, if it somehow works out for them. Its very interesting.

infinity ag said:

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MemphisAg1 said:

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I travel a lot for business.

Restaurants are packed, no matter where in the US you go.

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That is because you only go to high end places where everyone else is mooching off their corporate cards just like you do.

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It's kinda like yeti. Who actually buys yeti cups and coolers? I'd guess the majority are gifts from vendors or corporations. Lol

I really don't get how people can afford it, unless they are high income. we might eat out 2-3 times a month at most. Maybe 2-3 more fast food meals on the road in a month. We live out in a rural area so there is no delivery, and we wouldn't pay for it anyhow.


The food itself has not inflated that much. The costs of providing, preparing, and serving it have.

No.

On the Border in Cedar Hill wasn't on a wait Saturday night after my daughter's softball tourney. Service sucked. Made sense. Bill was $80 for 2 adults 5 kids.

Needed a reservation for Smith and Wollensky on a Weds in Las Vegas 2 weeks ago. Place was packed. Bill was $1000 for 3 of us. Service was amazing.

People like experiences, quality service, and good food. Everyone knows it's cheaper to eat at home. It's not a cost issue.

I treat a patient who owns 10 or so restaurants in the Austin area that have been very successful in the past. He said business is noticeably down the past year. Consumers habits are really chamging. We hardly go out as a family of 4 because it so expensive for what you get.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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One thing to consider here is DoorDash, Uber Eats, etc. Many people pay a premium to stay home and let a driver bring it to you. This drives up the cost of the food. I believe that many restaurants have added to the price of food becuase they have to pay these delivery companies a portion of the price.

We don't use DoorDash, but a friend of mine spends hundreds of dollars a month to have food delivered. It doesn't make any sense to me. If we order out, I'll go pick it up.

Now, I may be wrong about some of this (I probably am), but I think these delivery services are making restaurants look less busy, while in fact, they are just as busy, maybe busier. The patrons are not at the restaurant, though, and price of food for people who do eat there, is going up.

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Had not thought about that possible side effect of food deliveries but you are onto something there. Fewer in person diners doesn't automatically mean fewer sales with those services taking up some slack.

I think there is a lot of dynamics going on in service/restaurants.

1. Gen Z is not expounding on micro, farm-to-table, etc. Things that made the golden age of restaurants and breweries under millennials. They legit want more sterile experiences IMO. This even for those older Gen Zers that are raking in from the income and opportunity potential from the labor shortage during Covid.

2. We no longer have a K-recovery, we have a K economy. Those that make >125k can afford a decent amount of convenience (based on life stage also). Large scale where they cannot afford anything or necessities only. Also a ton of Gen Z that uses DoorDash and Uber Eats and the economics are outlandishly terrible for everyone involved. +40% for cold food.

3. Restaurant operators are rarely business savvy. Friends with several, and I would never tell them how to run their businesses, but their ideas and strategies are almost universally terrible. I had 2 in the same day say we need to implement a trivia night. It was hard not to laugh at the second one. One built a $6MM building in 2022 and after his first head chef was poached, his second was terrible with consistency, but he was loyal to a fault and has kept him for over 18 months.

4. There are probably too many restaurants from the aforementioned millennials desire for elevated dining. Excess competition and almost all but the best suffer through a downward spiral.

5. Tip culture - nuff said.

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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If you're a half-way decent cook going out just isn't worth it. Just wasting money on food that isn't as good as what I make at home.

Now I will gladly spend money at the local taco shop becuase i don't have a shawarma grill to cook al pastor on.

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Ditto, but for me it's more for good ME food, like Shawarma, Kibbeh balls, or Baba Ghanoush.

Throw in homemade Hummus and pita chips, and I'm so there.

WA state has the highest fast food prices in the nation.
14% higher....imagine that.
WA chain restaurant prices are highest in the U.S., study says | The Seattle Times https://share.google/mnX5T6h8eL59ryAwD

aggieforester05 said:

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I took my wife to a nice restaurant for her birthday. We both got a ribeye that came with potatoes and asparagus. Chips/Queso for appetizer. She got one old fashion and I got one beer. $176 plus tip came out to $211. Date night has gotten a little steep to say the least.

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LOL, wow.

I'm an old (55), and when I was in high school, me and a lot of high school kids I knew had jobs, especially at grocery stores and restaurants. We don't have kids, but I don't think many high school-aged kids are getting jobs anymore. That means the job pool for those jobs has decreased, and, at the same time, the wages you have to offer a 20-something to take that same job is higher.

At the same time, the economy has been slow, which means fewer patrons. Restaurant owners are caught in the squeeze.