Why Restaurants Are So Expensive Now, According to Chefs and Restaurant Owners | Eater
"The owner says, 'I'm going to be completely transparent; we filed for bankruptcy in December 2023. We might break even this year.' The owner reports the restaurant is unionized and that labor percentage is 'around 50 percent.' The owner describes a pricing method: 'I generally take the highest-cost ingredients, and multiply that by a factor of three and a half to four and a half, and that usually captures my labor costs.' The restaurant's bowl of pho is $26; the owner says they use chicken from Joyce Farms and that their broth takes three days. The owner describes a popular fried rice that originally used Chinese sausage and red hot dogs made by a local company using 'nice beef' costing $9 a pound, but says they changed it to shrimp (the dish priced at $27) because customers were more willing to pay. The owner says negative reviews compare the $26 pho to a $10 alternative and that 'some of the most vocal critics have been Asian,' asking, 'Don’t you want us to get paid?'. The owner recounts that the owner's family of four ate at Applebee's for $75 and that they 'felt good about the value' while also saying they 'knew someone along that chain is underpaid.'" - Jaya Saxena
