$18 for a freakin’ B.L.T. sandwich? These cafes and restaurants have lost their minds

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We pretty much stopped eating out because restaurant prices are crazy expensive.

+1
And I'm consistently disappointed with what we get for the inflated prices.

Exactly. My humble $18 B.L.T. looked just like a normal sandwich anyone could quickly make at home. It wasn’t like a sky high volume of premium bacon or anything exotic on it. Total rip-off.

I just made a BLT at home for dinner and it probably cost all of $4.50, even buying the "good" bacon. I made my own bread, too. It was delicious.

No way am I going to pay a more than 300% mark up on an extremely basic sandwich just because someone else assembled it for me. People need to start just walking away from these prices. It used to be that even at a place with $15 sandwiches, you could get a BLT, grilled cheese with bacon, or cheese and tomato sandwich for less than $10, because obviously these sandwiches have relatively cheap ingredients and are easy to make. This is 100% a deli saying "let's charge $18 for this and just see what happens -- if they still pay it, we can double our profit margin on them." So don't pay it!

Welcome to the cost of "living wages" for unskilled jobs. Jobs like these were never intended to support a person or family on. I understand that many of these people are supporting themselves and/or family on these jobs, but the wage scale should not be designed around that.

But what do you expect businesses to do when you have increased the hourly wage from $7.25/hr to $17.00/hr and current statistics have not yet caught up to pre-pandemic mode. Additionally, the businesses are paying for the 6-7% inflation and all of the ingredients and supplies they purpose are costing more. You expect businesses to operate in the red and eat those costs? Of course not. Their costs have gone up about 250%, so eateries are passing those cost increases on to the customer.

So you deserve a living wage, but not these workers?

Well, yes, because she presumably has a job that requires specialized skills and a college degree.

If it’s a job that is needed (and if you want to eat out, you need cooks and servers), it deserves to have a living wage. No one is saying someone who makes sandwiches should make the same as an engineer or surgeon. But they should make enough so they can afford a studio apartment, a car, and health insurance.

NP I disagree with them having their own apartment and a car. A living wage should mean that TWO of these jobs should be able to own an apartment. People need to live with roommates.

So what is a single parent supposed to do? I can see how in some areas, you might be making a choice between a less-expensive place further out, in which case you either need good public transportation or a car, and a more-expensive place near your job, but people deserve housing, healthcare, and food.

And considering the cost of education and training, it's not reasonable to require it for a living wage.

If a person works responsibly at a minimum wage job, they will only be working at it for a few months. There are ample opportunities to move up and earn more. If that single parent was working a minimum wage job, they would also qualify for the EITC, CHIP, SNAP and free lunches. They can also get a roommate. All these "living wage" initiatives do is make it more expensive for all goods, which of course affects the low income worker the most, which is why they escalate the "living wage."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We pretty much stopped eating out because restaurant prices are crazy expensive.

+1
And I'm consistently disappointed with what we get for the inflated prices.

Exactly. My humble $18 B.L.T. looked just like a normal sandwich anyone could quickly make at home. It wasn’t like a sky high volume of premium bacon or anything exotic on it. Total rip-off.

I just made a BLT at home for dinner and it probably cost all of $4.50, even buying the "good" bacon. I made my own bread, too. It was delicious.

No way am I going to pay a more than 300% mark up on an extremely basic sandwich just because someone else assembled it for me. People need to start just walking away from these prices. It used to be that even at a place with $15 sandwiches, you could get a BLT, grilled cheese with bacon, or cheese and tomato sandwich for less than $10, because obviously these sandwiches have relatively cheap ingredients and are easy to make. This is 100% a deli saying "let's charge $18 for this and just see what happens -- if they still pay it, we can double our profit margin on them." So don't pay it!

Welcome to the cost of "living wages" for unskilled jobs. Jobs like these were never intended to support a person or family on. I understand that many of these people are supporting themselves and/or family on these jobs, but the wage scale should not be designed around that.

But what do you expect businesses to do when you have increased the hourly wage from $7.25/hr to $17.00/hr and current statistics have not yet caught up to pre-pandemic mode. Additionally, the businesses are paying for the 6-7% inflation and all of the ingredients and supplies they purpose are costing more. You expect businesses to operate in the red and eat those costs? Of course not. Their costs have gone up about 250%, so eateries are passing those cost increases on to the customer.

So you deserve a living wage, but not these workers?

Well, yes, because she presumably has a job that requires specialized skills and a college degree.

If it’s a job that is needed (and if you want to eat out, you need cooks and servers), it deserves to have a living wage. No one is saying someone who makes sandwiches should make the same as an engineer or surgeon. But they should make enough so they can afford a studio apartment, a car, and health insurance.

NP I disagree with them having their own apartment and a car. A living wage should mean that TWO of these jobs should be able to own an apartment. People need to live with roommates.

So what is a single parent supposed to do? I can see how in some areas, you might be making a choice between a less-expensive place further out, in which case you either need good public transportation or a car, and a more-expensive place near your job, but people deserve housing, healthcare, and food.

And considering the cost of education and training, it's not reasonable to require it for a living wage.

If a person works responsibly at a minimum wage job, they will only be working at it for a few months. There are ample opportunities to move up and earn more. If that single parent was working a minimum wage job, they would also qualify for the EITC, CHIP, SNAP and free lunches. They can also get a roommate. All these "living wage" initiatives do is make it more expensive for all goods, which of course affects the low income worker the most, which is why they escalate the "living wage."

Where do you live OP?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don’t really get how fresh prepared food could cost less, tbh. I think the margins are razor thin.

Probably someone will come up with an ai or automation innovation that will change the labor math at some point, like what happened with the Automat and the McDonalds assembly method. I know Pret makes the sandwiches ahead but I don’t think that’s different enough to really dent the economics.

You’re paying $18 for a single BLT that you make in your own kitchen with grocery store ingredients? Sounds like someone who’s never ever cooked.

Well, why don't you factor in your labor and rent/mortgage costs, plus utilities? It's not just the ingredients you're paying for, obviously.

That’s the most absurd argument I’ve heard. Listen, restaurant owner. People are waking up to your ridiculous prices.

Oh, please. I work in media. But the idea you are only paying for ingredients is obviously false and you are dumb as a ham sandwich if you don’t see that.

The owner's overhead isn't my problem. If the chain next door has a fungible product for half the price, then they are getting my business. We're not talking about Brooklyn Delis. The Corner Bakery, Jersey Mikes, and Jimmy Johns are close enough to most lunch places and much cheaper

Haha. of course the owner's overhead is your problem! Do you think the overhead is not baked into the price of your meal at any of the chains you mention? It is, which means that the owner is skimping somewhere else, likely in the quality of the food. You've been trained to enjoy the taste of ground rat tail and pig anus, flavorless iceberg lettuce, and "cheese product."

Keep telling yourself that. I care about the price point and am fine not eating out if it’s too high. Look at all the restaurants going under if you think I’m an outlier

Fine, don't go out to eat. But don't act like you're entitled to dine out wherever you want at the price you think is reasonable (it isn't).

The discussion hasn’t really been people feeling entitled to eat out at the price point they want. It’s more feeling the price isn’t worth it so people are opting out of restaurant dining altogether. If business owners are smart they’ll notice trends in patronage decreasing and not try to comp with higher prices to make up for it (thereby pushing more diners away).

The restaurant we eat most is a local pizza place that is constantly running specials and allows loyalty rewards so we’re always earning free apps or a few bucks off. Plus they have easy curbside pickup meaning I save on delivery fees.

There were some recent news reports about Papa John’s franchises losing business because of overly aggressive pricing. There’s only so much many people will take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We pretty much stopped eating out because restaurant prices are crazy expensive.

+1
And I'm consistently disappointed with what we get for the inflated prices.

Exactly. My humble $18 B.L.T. looked just like a normal sandwich anyone could quickly make at home. It wasn’t like a sky high volume of premium bacon or anything exotic on it. Total rip-off.

I just made a BLT at home for dinner and it probably cost all of $4.50, even buying the "good" bacon. I made my own bread, too. It was delicious.

No way am I going to pay a more than 300% mark up on an extremely basic sandwich just because someone else assembled it for me. People need to start just walking away from these prices. It used to be that even at a place with $15 sandwiches, you could get a BLT, grilled cheese with bacon, or cheese and tomato sandwich for less than $10, because obviously these sandwiches have relatively cheap ingredients and are easy to make. This is 100% a deli saying "let's charge $18 for this and just see what happens -- if they still pay it, we can double our profit margin on them." So don't pay it!

Welcome to the cost of "living wages" for unskilled jobs. Jobs like these were never intended to support a person or family on. I understand that many of these people are supporting themselves and/or family on these jobs, but the wage scale should not be designed around that.

But what do you expect businesses to do when you have increased the hourly wage from $7.25/hr to $17.00/hr and current statistics have not yet caught up to pre-pandemic mode. Additionally, the businesses are paying for the 6-7% inflation and all of the ingredients and supplies they purpose are costing more. You expect businesses to operate in the red and eat those costs? Of course not. Their costs have gone up about 250%, so eateries are passing those cost increases on to the customer.

So you deserve a living wage, but not these workers?

Well, yes, because she presumably has a job that requires specialized skills and a college degree.

Nope. That’s now how this works. Not just the coddled few deserve a living wage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks Joe Biden

Are you stupid?

This is not on Biden.

Learn economics and go back to school your cult brain is literally dead.

I’m tired of idiocy, Biden doesn’t set prices Corps do. You have a beef tell them otherwise stop showing the rest of us how dumb you are and when Trump and company take over you idiot prices will be like Russia you think bread is high now???? Are you insane??? Because they are going to not only take your social security prices will skyrocket. What do you think it is like under a dictatorship? ???? Then yes the “President “ will set prices because he will be KING!


You think we won’t be Russia or North Korea in terms of economics at home when Republicans win? Wow how are Americans this utterly ignorant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stopped going out to eat because so many food industry staff began to look gross and unhygienic. Sorry, I simply don’t trust people to be around my food if they don’t care enough to look somewhat clean and presentable.

No need to apologize, we do not miss you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stopped going out to eat because so many food industry staff began to look gross and unhygienic. Sorry, I simply don’t trust people to be around my food if they don’t care enough to look somewhat clean and presentable.

No need to apologize, we do not miss you.

Oh you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks Joe Biden

Are you stupid?

This is not on Biden.

Learn economics and go back to school your cult brain is literally dead.

I’m tired of idiocy, Biden doesn’t set prices Corps do. You have a beef tell them otherwise stop showing the rest of us how dumb you are and when Trump and company take over you idiot prices will be like Russia you think bread is high now???? Are you insane??? Because they are going to not only take your social security prices will skyrocket. What do you think it is like under a dictatorship? ???? Then yes the “President “ will set prices because he will be KING!


You think we won’t be Russia or North Korea in terms of economics at home when Republicans win? Wow how are Americans this utterly ignorant?

Whoa. Are you ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stopped going out to eat because so many food industry staff began to look gross and unhygienic. Sorry, I simply don’t trust people to be around my food if they don’t care enough to look somewhat clean and presentable.

No need to apologize, we do not miss you.

And nobody misses your dirty hair, dirty nails, sleeve tattoos, piercings, and negative attitude preparing our food.

[Anonymous]

We make 7 figures and we are annoyed by the prices too. Our issue is that the quality sucks.

I think there is honestly ample opportunity for private chefs, but needs to be people willing to defer entirely to the customer’s preferences. I interviewed a couple people whose qualifications were “people love my food!” and they had too many opinions. I can pay whatever but I expect execution and not offering stupid thoughts that involve cheap unhealthy ingredients. Like make salmon with barely any oil and salt that tastes delicious. Obviously if you’re pouring cream and cheese into your food people will eat it - that’s not the point.

[Anonymous]

so many places need to embrace automation and get machines to do most of the work of preparing food. Reduce labor costs to a few employees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so many places need to embrace automation and get machines to do most of the work of preparing food. Reduce labor costs to a few employees

Humans are robots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so many places need to embrace automation and get machines to do most of the work of preparing food. Reduce labor costs to a few employees

Humans are robots.

Nobody said they are.

But robots will likely be flipping burgers in the near future. A lot of casual places also already have self pay kiosks. It’s inevitable that employees will be replaced at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to pay the higher prices for the higher minimum wage. That’s it. You can’t pay more unless you collect more.

I get that for small businesses but not big corporations that are seeing record profits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make 7 figures and we are annoyed by the prices too. Our issue is that the quality sucks.

I think there is honestly ample opportunity for private chefs, but needs to be people willing to defer entirely to the customer’s preferences. I interviewed a couple people whose qualifications were “people love my food!” and they had too many opinions. I can pay whatever but I expect execution and not offering stupid thoughts that involve cheap unhealthy ingredients. Like make salmon with barely any oil and salt that tastes delicious. Obviously if you’re pouring cream and cheese into your food people will eat it - that’s not the point.

Defer entirely to the customers’ preferences? Private chefs? Is this your attempt at relating to people who can’t afford to go out to eat anymore?