Have you cut back from eating out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you don't think that is strange behavior I guess you have a higher tolerance for this kind of nonsense than I have. She could have given me a moment to properly exit the stall before she rushed in, but no, she brushed past me.

You are giving very off vibes.

And you are giving gaslighting vibes off yourself, lol.

Seems like you don't know what that word means.

And you sound like someone who is picking a fight. Who pissed in your cornflakes?

[Anonymous]

We've cut back on eating out at full service restaurants because 1) the tipping culture 2) the meh service 3) the feeling of being "robbed" having to pay that much for not spectacular food that we can probably make better at home.

We have still been eating frequently at our usual counter service places that we enjoy food from, without having to deal with the above.

[Anonymous]

NP. Why are y’all hung up on this $45 at Taco Bell? The poster may be like me - I don’t take my kids somewhere and then tell them what they can order. If I take you to a restaurant, you can order whatever you want.

And yes, we have cut WAY back. We cut back on breakfast years ago. It just got ridiculous to pay over $50 (which is now $100) for food we could literally make at home for way less than $10.

We have also cut back on the impromptu dining out. We just go home and make something quickly or scrounge for leftovers. The food is so expensive and the return is just so mediocre that we don’t bother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stopped going out almost 3 years ago, it is cost prohibitive to us. We used to grab Chopt salads regularly for lunch, and now it is $38 for two salads. No thank you. We only go once a year to a nice restaurant to celebrate each other birthdays. Economy sucks.

Except it isn't the economy, it's price gouging.

We cut back a lot. I feel bad about it because I really want to support our neighborhood restaurants when they are good, but it is so expensive to do on a weekly basis. We went above and beyond to support them through COVID, but feel a bit burned that they never brought the prices back to normal. Maybe they didn't realize we were sacrificing to support them and that it wasn't sustainable long term. When the cost of getting pizza for the family doubles, it has to change your habits regardless of your income.

No restaurant wants to charge extra and then lose customers. It is not price gouging.

1) At the beginning of the Biden administration, energy policies drove up fuel costs, which raises the prices of all commodities;
2) The combination of high oil prices and the war in Ukraine drove up the price of fertilizer;
3) Due to government income support payments during COVID (and personal fears), it became very difficult to hire workers. Starting salaries, even in fast food places, went way up.
4) Due to the above, farmers took acreage out of production because they would potentially lose money;
5) Therefore, the price of animal feed went up, so farmers reduced the size of their livestock herds;
6) So, prices for all food products, plus utilities, plus transport costs, plus labor costs have all risen during the last four years. Restaurants cannot survive without raising their prices, and now the fact that inflation has reduced discretionary income, people are eating out less. That equals more restaurant bankruptcies.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/casual-dining-chain-bankruptcies-highlight-industry-in-flux

[Anonymous]

Unless you're going out to a really good, high quality restaurant for a special event, eating out is now just meh. Food prices are too high, service is terrible, and other than enjoying a night out with friends if it's a social gathering or something like that, it's just not worth the trouble. My kids still like their weekly Chipotle, and I still like to get a daily cup of coffee from sbux, but otherwise, we try to limit it to just maybe going out to dinner on a saturday night or ordering in pizza for movie night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stopped going out almost 3 years ago, it is cost prohibitive to us. We used to grab Chopt salads regularly for lunch, and now it is $38 for two salads. No thank you. We only go once a year to a nice restaurant to celebrate each other birthdays. Economy sucks.

Except it isn't the economy, it's price gouging.

We cut back a lot. I feel bad about it because I really want to support our neighborhood restaurants when they are good, but it is so expensive to do on a weekly basis. We went above and beyond to support them through COVID, but feel a bit burned that they never brought the prices back to normal. Maybe they didn't realize we were sacrificing to support them and that it wasn't sustainable long term. When the cost of getting pizza for the family doubles, it has to change your habits regardless of your income.

No restaurant wants to charge extra and then lose customers. It is not price gouging.

1) At the beginning of the Biden administration, energy policies drove up fuel costs, which raises the prices of all commodities;
2) The combination of high oil prices and the war in Ukraine drove up the price of fertilizer;
3) Due to government income support payments during COVID (and personal fears), it became very difficult to hire workers. Starting salaries, even in fast food places, went way up.
4) Due to the above, farmers took acreage out of production because they would potentially lose money;
5) Therefore, the price of animal feed went up, so farmers reduced the size of their livestock herds;
6) So, prices for all food products, plus utilities, plus transport costs, plus labor costs have all risen during the last four years. Restaurants cannot survive without raising their prices, and now the fact that inflation has reduced discretionary income, people are eating out less. That equals more restaurant bankruptcies.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/casual-dining-chain-bankruptcies-highlight-industry-in-flux

Gas prices are down.
Workers are back.
Restaurants have not lowered their prices. Minimum tipping expectations has increased, adding significantly to a restaurant bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're going out to a really good, high quality restaurant for a special event, eating out is now just meh. Food prices are too high, service is terrible, and other than enjoying a night out with friends if it's a social gathering or something like that, it's just not worth the trouble. My kids still like their weekly Chipotle, and I still like to get a daily cup of coffee from sbux, but otherwise, we try to limit it to just maybe going out to dinner on a saturday night or ordering in pizza for movie night.

Agree.
We eat at home more for sure, though it began more from trying to eat more healthy. We absolutely don't do the typical fast food restaurants nearly as frequently as we used to, though there was a lot of Chik Fil A over the summer.
Less, but higher quality = better way of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People, repeat after me:

Dining out
Dining out
Dining out

Stop saying “eating out” in this context!

Don't you eat when you dine?

[Anonymous]

I guess I don't see how one 17 year old kid orders $45 from Taco Bell.

My 17 year old doesn't usually spend much more than $15 at Chipotle...admittedly, not a fan of sugar drinks/desserts so only drinks water.

[Anonymous]

Go and look at who is making your food at Taco Bell and the cleanliness of the kitchen it's being made it. That will stop you from eating it (and at most restaurants) really quick.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I used to eat out at least 2-3 times a week, including weekly (or more) at my favorite Chinese restaurant. The food is more expensive and not as good as it used to be, so I’ve been splurging on more interesting groceries instead of restaurants. I still go out for dishes that I can’t replicate at home.

[Anonymous]

Restaurants keep raising prices even though inflation is way down and the food is mediocre. They got used to people “supporting” residents during the pandemic, got lazy and are still trying to take advantage of us.

[Anonymous]

Too much salt in restaurant food. There's really nothing other than convenience in eating out. Major price hike everywhere,too. So, every now and then.

[Anonymous]

Yes - once kids went to college and we weren't shuttling around to various practice/trying to squeeze in dinners DH and I stopped getting take out/going out.

I still do $5 coffee a couple times a week but I bet we are saving hundreds a month now from not getting take out.