Your Dinner Tab Has Soared. Here Are All the Reasons By Priya Krishna and Umi Syam
When the check hits the table at Good Food on Montford, an upscale yet casual restaurant in Charlotte, N.C., all the headlines about inflation suddenly add up to a hard number — and serious sticker shock.
Charlotte is no New York when it comes to cost of living. But Good Food’s owner, Bruce Moffett, said his soaring expenses have forced him to charge “New York prices” — like $16 for a small plate that three years ago cost $12. A glass of wine that used to cost $16 is now $20.
At restaurants around the country, staff shortages, supply-chain logjams, the Ukraine war and other forces have driven up the price of nearly everything.
While some owners have imposed inflation surcharges or simply swallowed the added costs, Mr. Moffett has raised menu prices.
The check delivered at meal’s end shows those prices, but not the dozens of increased expenses that prompted them.
Good Food on Montford Expenses
Percentage increase:
Canola oil (35 lb.) $22 $57 +159%
Scallops (1 lb.) $17 $37 +118%
Gochujang (5 lb.) $15 $29 +93%
All-purpose flour (50 lb.) $18 $29 +61%
Beef strip loin (1 lb.) $9 $14 +56%
Duck breasts (1 lb.) $9 $14 +56%
Pork butt (1 lb.) $4 $6 +50%
Mussels (10 lb.) $20 $27 +35%
Arugula (5 lb.) $18 $24 +33%
Quail (36) $85 $97 +14%
Carrots (25 lb.) $21 $24 +14%
Heavy cream (12 qt.) $46 $52 +13%
DRINKS (7)
Laurent-Perrier Champagne (750 mL) $30 $38 +27%
Louis Latour white Burgundy (750 mL) $14 $17 +25%
Dow port (750 mL) $48 $55 +15%
Jordan cabernet sauvignon (750 mL) $45 $50 +11%
Tito's vodka (750 mL) $20 $22 +10%
Woodford Reserve whiskey (750 mL) $36 $39 +8%
Hendrick’s gin (750 mL) $35 $37 +6%
LABOR (6)
Job listing (*in 2020, for line cook, per month) $56* $1,047 +1770%
Dishwasher (average weekly wages) $600 $830 +38%
Line cook $700 $950 +36%
Sous-chef $800 $1,000 +25%
Executive chef $1,100 $1,250 +14%
Health insurance (monthly, per employee) $297 $329 +11%
UTILITIES (3)
Natural gas (per month) $480 $890 +85%
Water $480 $525 +9%
Electricity $750 $790 +5%
EQUIPMENT AND MAINTENANCE (8)
Refrigerant (1 lb.) $75 $200 +167%
Large stand-up refrigerator $3,300 $6,200 +88%
Small under-counter refrigerator $2,100 $3,500 +67%
Evaporator $850 $1,400 +65%
Water heater $24,000 $38,000 +58%
Landscaping (one project) $3,400 $5,000 +47%
Oven range $3,200 $4,000 +25%
Pest control $130 $135 +4%
DINNERWARE (3)
Fork $1.24 $2.02 +63%
Wine glass $5.58 $8.19 +47%
Water glass $4.24 $5.82 +37%
TAKEOUT (4)
Rubber gloves (case) $80 $150 +88%
To-go boxes (case) $52 $61 +17%
Quart containers (case) $91 $92 +1%
Paper bags (case) $69 $70 +1%
Food-The menu at Good Food on Montford, one of three restaurants Mr. Moffett owns, centers on creative small plates, from spice-rubbed pork buns to green tomato focaccia. They call for a wide variety of ingredients, many from local purveyors like Boy & Girl Farm.
Prices have skyrocketed for the marquee proteins, like beef and pork, in the most popular dishes.
Mr. Moffett lays much of the blame on the pressing demand for workers: “There is a shortage of truck drivers. There is a shortage of people working in the factories. There is a shortage of people working in the fields.”
He has raised the price on the restaurant’s Korean beef with crispy rice to $16. In 2019, just before the pandemic, it cost about $12.
The price of scallops has risen 118 percent in that time. The chef, Andrew Alexander, said that to serve the shellfish, he’d have to charge more than $30 for a small plate, which “is not realistic for this place.” So he came up with new dishes that showcase less expensive proteins, like quail.
More basic ingredients like cooking oil and flour can’t be swapped out. But those costs have shot up, too — canola oil alone by 159 percent.
David Ortega, a food economist who teaches at Michigan State University, traces those increases in large part to the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted trade and caused shortages, escalating wholesale wheat prices in the United States.
Russia and Ukraine also provide much of the world’s sunflower oil, he said, and as sunflower oil prices have climbed, so too have the prices of substitute oils.
Rising fuel and fertilizer costs, along with labor shortages, play a role in the surge of produce prices, Mr. Ortega said. He also cited climate change, which has led to droughts that limit agricultural output.
Mr. Moffett uses several imported products in his kitchens, like gochujang, whose price has risen 93 percent — a result, he said, of higher fuel prices and fewer workers to unload ships.
“We find out that items are sitting on ships for several weeks before they are taken off and brought to us,” he said.
As Mr. Moffett has raised menu prices, his chef has taken six of about 22 dishes off the menu. “I am worried about ordering in a bunch of food and sitting on a bunch of money,” Mr. Alexander said.
Some customers have complained about the more limited menu. One, Sarah Holshouser, said that some of the small plates she ordered didn’t include much food, and that the bill was higher than she expected. “I feel like people are more reluctant to go out to eat at all,” she said, “because Charlotte restaurant prices have increased so much.”
Drinks-Some of the wines Mr. Moffett has relied on for years are suddenly not available, and pricing can be unpredictable. Imported wines are getting stuck at customs, while domestic producers have told him they’re dealing with inconsistent harvests because of climate change, water shortages and staffing challenges.
He hasn’t changed his markup — about 150 percent, standard for many restaurants. He has raised prices for wines by the glass.
North Carolina liquor stores are state-run, so Good Food can’t shop around for a lower price. Mr. Moffett said those stores are facing liquor shortages, so his employees will often have to visit three or four to fill an order. Mr. Moffett has raised cocktail prices by a dollar or two, to $11 to $15.
Labor-Labor costs vary, but typically make up about one-fifth to one-third of a restaurant’s budget. Good Food employs 23 people, including an executive chef, a sous-chef, seven to eight line cooks and two dishwashers.
“I have always been able to keep our labor around 22, 24, 25 percent” of the restaurant’s monthly budget of roughly $125,000, said Elizabeth Tackett, the general manager. “We are absolutely pushing past 30 percent, with no end in sight.”
It’s a hard time to hire and keep employees in Charlotte, where the unemployment rate is 3.4 percent, slightly lower than the national rate. Many workers have left the industry because of poor pay and working conditions. Good Food has raised wages for its line cooks by about 36 percent.
Every time Ms. Tackett increases the hourly rate on a job listing to remain competitive, she raises the rate for current employees as well. “We are in a bidding war with all the other restaurants of our caliber,” she said.
She has placed job postings on the website Indeed since 2020, but the service is charging her growing amounts to ensure that her listings get the most visibility. She has paid more than $2,000 a month.
Even with the higher wages and the insurance benefits the restaurant offers, Mr. Moffett said the vast majority of people he calls in for interviews don’t show up. Some who are hired will leave midshift, overwhelmed by a workload shared by fewer workers.
Some employees who’ve stayed feel they’ve gained some clout. “There is definitely a little bit of a shift in power,” said Hank Ferguson, a line cook. Before the pandemic, he was making $12 an hour at another restaurant. He now makes $16, with benefits. But because his cost of living has risen, he doesn’t feel significantly better off.
Like many other restaurants, Good Food has adjusted to its smaller staff by cutting its opening hours. Some weeks, the restaurant is open five days instead of the usual six.
This dismays Mr. Moffett: “It is disheartening to have a vision for what your restaurant should be and not being able to execute it because you don’t have a reliable work force.”
Utilities-The restaurant’s bill for the natural gas that fuels its ovens and water heater has soared 85 percent since 2019.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global gas production, said Nicholas Sly, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Cutting back gas isn’t an option at Good Food, Mr. Moffett said. “The more gas we use just means we are busier, and the busier we are, the better off we are.”
Even the restaurant’s water bill has grown. Mr. Moffett said the city of Charlotte is upgrading some of its water infrastructure and passing those costs to users like him.
Equipment and Maintenance-At least one major appliance at Good Food breaks down every month, requiring repairs or replacement. Mr. Moffett had to buy two new refrigerators at the start of the year, at a total cost of nearly $10,000. That’s nearly 80 percent more than if he’d bought them three years ago. If a refrigerator fails, he often has to pay for a new evaporator or refrigerant; both are costlier now.
The new oven range Mr. Moffett bought early this year cost $4,000, 25 percent more than in 2019. “The price of stainless steel has gone up,” he said, “the price of cast iron has gone up, the price of all the things that are in the stove have gone up.”
When his water heater gave out in 2021, he replaced it. If he had to buy one today, it would cost 58 percent more than before the pandemic. “If you don’t have hot water,” he said, “the health inspector will shut you down.”
Mr. Moffett has booked a landscaper to do some work in the coming weeks. “I can’t get a quote for under $5,000,” he said. “A lot of contractors won’t get out of bed” for less.
The same forces making it hard for Mr. Moffett to find workers are at play for contractors, who are trying to meet higher demand in the pandemic.
“If an oven goes down and my oven-repair person doesn’t have enough help to send anyone out for a week, I am down an oven for a week.”
Dinnerware-Good Food runs through its fair share of serving equipment. Forks get caught in tablecloths and are tossed when they reach the laundry. Glassware breaks in cleaning.
Wine glasses are particularly fragile, and as many as five have broken in a single week. The price of replacing the high-quality ones Good Food uses to show off its wines has risen 47 percent.
That doesn’t include shipping costs, which have also surged, Mr. Moffett said. If a plate costs $35, he’ll pay at least 20 to 30 percent of that in shipping and handling alone.
“Shipping prices are up because of gas prices, but that’s not all of it,” said Mr. Sly, the Federal Reserve economist. There aren’t enough truck drivers; boxes and paper products are more expensive.
Takeout-The pandemic forced many restaurants, including Good Food, to focus more on takeout than they had earlier.
Mr. Moffett tried working with third-party delivery services, but it got too complicated, so he handles everything internally. He pays for napkins, containers, paper bags, straws, cups and cutlery. He tries to be mindful of the environment and buy products made from sustainable materials.
Last year, when restaurants like Good Food were still heavily reliant on takeout orders, to-go boxes cost about $120 per case. “Some of that stuff has leveled back out a little bit,” Ms. Tackett said. But takeout materials are still more expensive than before the pandemic. The price of rubber gloves, which are used throughout the restaurant, has grown by 88 percent.
Good Food has one advantage many restaurants don’t: a stabilized rent, now $7,623 a month, that increases by only 2.5 percent each year. But Mr. Moffett worries that if his other costs keep rising, customers may decide it’s not worth dining out. In online reviews, some have complained about the higher menu prices. “Americans want everything made in America,” he said, “but they don’t want to pay the costs for making things in America.”
The restaurant makes nearly $2 million a year in sales; Mr. Moffett estimates that his profit margin has fallen to about 8 to 10 percent, from roughly 15 to 20 percent before the pandemic. (The average pretax profit margin for the typical restaurant with annual sales of $900,000 has dropped to around 1 percent from about 5 percent, according to the National Restaurant Association.)
But Mr. Moffett sees an upside: He has become much more mindful of costs. “It is going to make us examine every penny, and where we can save a penny and where we can spend a penny and what we need to charge for every item,” he said. “I think it is going to make us much more nimble.”