Restaurants are feeling rising food costs; are you?
According to data from the National Restaurant Association, wholesale food prices rose 7.3 percent last year, the largest such increase since 1980.
That translates to higher food costs for you and me when we line up at the grocery check-out. But it also puts pressure on the restaurant owners. Our story for Friday’s Post-Dispatch looks at what restaurateurs are doing to cope.
Five restaurant, on Manchester Avenue in the Grove area of St. Louis, is near the higher end of menu prices, with entrees generally in the high teens or low-$20s range. Chef and co-owner Anthony Devoti cuts some costs by buying from growers and producers. “During spring and summer especially, it’s much cheaper to buy locally,” Devoti says. “We buy directly from the farmers.”
It’s affected lower-cost restaurants, too. Reporter Joe Bonwich has this quote from City Diner: “I’m at a price point on the low end,” says Pete Spoto, owner of the City Diner. “We had to raise the prices on one of our breakfasts from $6 to $6.50. Fifty cents may not seem like much, but we have seen just a little drop-off from some of our regulars. I hope they won’t stay away for long.”
By the way, the same news release from the National Restaurant Association says restaurant sales are expected to grow this year 4.4 percent over last year.
Have you noticed higher prices affecting restaurant costs? Where? How? How about prices at the grocer? How have you coped? Eaten out less? More? Changed the kinds of food you buy or order?
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
YES
Thanks to the voters of the city of St. Louis, who for some reason haven’t found a sales tax they don’t like, final prices will be even higher. A diner at a sit down restaurant in the city will be paying almost 10% in sales tax now that Prop S has passed.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/comptroller/salestax.html
I just don’t understand the logic of the city officials sometimes. Taxes keep going up and yet basic city services keep dwindling. You simply cannot keep taxing people more and more and expect them to keep taking it. BTW, have you seen the condition of some of the road and bridges in the city. Just terrible. I often wonder what someone from out of town thinks when they drive around down. Just take a ride down south Kingshighway if you need an example.
My wife and I can afford to eat at almost anywhere but we will be cutting back on dining in the city as form of protest. Luckily the tax on food at the grocery store still remains low and I can cook well.
We buy almost all of our groceries at Aldi, a handful of items at Shop ‘n Save, and an occasional visit to Sam’s and a Walmart Super Center. A few items are noticeably higher - milk and eggs come to mind - but milk is still $3 a gallon at Sam’s, which is less than the big grocery stores were charging before the price went up. So no, it really hasn’t affected us at all. Food is still very cheap, an insignificant part of our household budget.
To compensate for the higher prices I just make more 5 finger discounts that’s all.