Why Is Food So Expensive In Restaurants? An Intro

One of the most interesting parts of writing a blog it that you get to see the search engine terms that lead people to finding your site. It is the best information you can get to understand the motivations of your readers. This information drives a great deal of what I write about on this blog. I frequently see terms like this in my search engine results:

“Why is food so expensive in restaurants?”

“Why do restaurants cost so much?”

“Why are restaurants so expensive?”

As a restaurant person, I am not sure that I agree with the premise of these questions. I would point to a number of restaurants that are scraping by on profit margins of 2-3%. I see restaurants that are unable to stay afloat due to trying to compete on price. Most restaurants earn profit margins that could be outpaced by a certificate of deposit at your local bank. The question I ask myself often is how you can charge enough for food to keep the lights on.

Clearing up the differences of opinions between a restaurant’s perspective and that of restaurant guests is the purpose of this blog. This is why I am going to address these questions and try to explain why restaurants charge the prices they do. This will be a multiple part series that will explore expenses that restaurant guests rarely take into account. I will try to shed light on the things that happen behind the scenes at restaurants to enhance the understanding of patrons and show the value that restaurants represent.

You cannot compare the prices on the menu to the prices at a grocery store. This is like comparing the price of a pound of grapes to the price of a bottle of Dom Perignon. Restaurants face a number of expenses that most guests fail to consider as part of the price of the meal. Once these factors are taken into consideration, then the price of dinner becomes more understandable. Promoting this sort of understanding is the reason that Foodie Knowledge exists.

I hope you will enjoy this series in the coming weeks. It should be enlightening and hopefully will help you appreciate the value you receive in most restaurants. Restaurants go to great lengths to offer the best possible value. Once you see the expenses they have to pay, you will understand the value that you receive. This series will launch soon with an explanation of why food is actually more expensive for restaurants than what you might find in a grocery store.