WSJ: Grocery costs up 13.1%; restaurant prices up 7.6%
 

From today's NumLock News

As of July, consumer prices at grocery stores were up 13.1 percent compared to 2021, while consumer prices at restaurants were up 7.6 percent. That 5.5 percentage point gap is the widest it’s been since the 1970s, and restaurants have been trying to capitalize on the idea that it’s a marginally better value to eat out than in than it was a year ago, even if there’s still a difference. Among the top-watched restaurant ads in the period May through August, iSpot found 58 percent highlighted deals and prices, up from 46 percent in the January through April period. Groceries are more likely to be affected by fluctuations in prices of raw materials than restaurants, where labor costs are a more significant factor in overall costs.

Heather Haddon, The Wall Street Journal

Restaurants' claim "We're now a relative bargain". With this one month of data, all we know is that the gap between restaurants and groceries has narrowed. It would be helpful if the article pointed that out, or looked at a more than one month of data when comparing the two.

Restaurants around here (especially some of the casual / take out places) have jumped 20 to 30% at once. I can't blame them - some of them are barely keeping their doors open, and held off from price increases for quite some time. Not that I like it, but it makes sense to have one big jump, and then keep thing stable for a long time (and hopefully that will be possible).

Nyt has a similar article. It’s definitely costing more. That said, even pre pandemic the press discussed razor thin margins for restaurant meals. It’s always been a brutal business. I enjoy restaurant dining and just pay what it costs while finding ways to reduce my overall restaurant usage.

NYT article was about how restaurant costs are up.

Inflation hysteria everywhere...