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I'm sorry, I don't understand the significance of that. Customers pay tips, not the restaurant owner. Thus, labor costs for restaurants without tipped employees have increased more than those restaurants with tipped employees, which is a likely explanation for the shrinking of the price differential between the two types of restaurants.
A cheeseburger with fries and a non alcoholic drink is 12.99 + tax + tip at Applebees.
A quarter pounder meal at Mickey d’s is 9.19 + tax.
That’s a significant difference especially if you’ve got several people to feed.
On the 3 for me menu at Chili's, there are 3 burgers/chicken sandwiches for 10.99 which includes appetizer + drink + half pound burger + side. Yes you need to pay tax and tip, but that still makes it only slightly more expensive than ordering a Double quarter pounder with cheese combo for a much different dining experience and an appetizer. Plus you can order alcohol if you want to. Prior to the pandemic, this was the 3 for 10 menu (which had lots more offerings) but what was a large sandwich combo at McDonalds then, $6-7.
On the 3 for me menu at Chili's, there are 3 burgers/chicken sandwiches for 10.99 which includes appetizer + drink + half pound burger + side. Yes you need to pay tax and tip, but that still makes it only slightly more expensive than ordering a Double quarter pounder with cheese combo for a much different dining experience and an appetizer. Plus you can order alcohol if you want to. Prior to the pandemic, this was the 3 for 10 menu (which had lots more offerings) but what was a large sandwich combo at McDonalds then, $6-7.
Applebee's is using real beef while McDonald's has admitted to a proprietary blend of god knows what, so in reality you don't know exactly what you're getting.
"Every one of our McDonald's burgers is made with 100% pure beef and cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else—no fillers, no additives, no preservatives. "
Fast food places are pricing themselves out of business, but people are also making healthier food choices and fast food is anything but healthy.
and Arby's is an acquired taste (mystery meat sandwiches with liquid cheese)
Margins have also been slashed due to inflation/higher wages. I had a steak house operator tell me pre-Covid if you could make 10% net you were a superstar in the restaurant industry! This was a high end steakhouse, huge wine list, should have been a huge margin place.
6 months later they closed and subleased the property to another steakhouse.
I'm sorry, I don't understand the significance of that. Customers pay tips, not the restaurant owner. Thus, labor costs for restaurants without tipped employees have increased more than those restaurants with tipped employees, which is a likely explanation for the shrinking of the price differential between the two types of restaurants.
I was in Seattle 2 weeks ago. Ice cream place, had a sign up that they don't accept tips/ our employees are paid a fair wage/everyone makes atleast $21 an hour. So its a scoop place, not really a sit down/ nothing on the menu but ice cream (no food). Everybody seemed happy to work there, so 4 single scoop cones/no toppings:
$36!
I was visiting, ice cream was good but I would not be a regular for $9 cones.
It's math folks, can't have cheap food and high wages!
That's a great point. It's hard getting in and out of that whole corner whether going to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut or the many auto related services from Hwy 54.
I was in Seattle 2 weeks ago. Ice cream place, had a sign up that they don't accept tips/ our employees are paid a fair wage/everyone makes atleast $21 an hour. So its a scoop place, not really a sit down/ nothing on the menu but ice cream (no food). Everybody seemed happy to work there, so 4 single scoop cones/no toppings:
$36!
I was visiting, ice cream was good but I would not be a regular for $9 cones.
It's math folks, can't have cheap food and high wages!
Pretty sure that if you go to a private, locally owned, made in house kind of place here in NC, four scoops is going to be in the $24-$30 range, so that is not as out of the ordinary as one would think. Seattle has a higher cost of living than anywhere in NC.
Also, the reason that restaurants have staffing issues is because they have not responded to the need to pay higher wages as much as other industries have, along with a whole host of other issues like affordable housing, etc. It's simple supply and demand, or as you would say "math folks". (I am agreeing with you, just to be clear.)
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So its a scoop place, not really a sit down/ nothing on the menu but ice cream (no food). Everybody seemed happy to work there, so 4 single scoop cones/no toppings:
