This week on Menu Talk, hosts Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, share their take on high menu prices. Their editors at both publications have had a lot to say about fast-food inflation, but how about sticker shock at full-service restaurants?
It’s getting increasingly difficult to find entrees priced below $40 at chef-driven independents, even those with a more casual vibe. And fine-dining restaurants are pushing prices above the $50 mark for a plate of seafood or meat accompanied by maybe one side. Yet reservations are hard to get at many of these spots, so there seem to be enough deep-pocketed customers willing to pay, especially in the big cities.
Fogo de Chão has found ways to keep prices reasonable without hurting its margins, as CEO Barry McGowan revealed in a chat with Pat. We played clips from their conversation, in which he talks about controlling costs by purchasing “overhang” from meat suppliers, in-house butchering and introducing new cuts to guests. Fogo has raised menu prices by 2.5% in the past couple of years, while other restaurants in the steakhouse category have averaged 10% increases, he said.
Customers at Fogo pay about $52 for the whole churrasco experience, which features a large variety of meats carved tableside, an extensive Market Table of seasonal salads, soup, Brazilian feijoada, smoked salmon, charcuterie, and dessert. The Bar Fogo menu also offers good value, with a burger and polenta fries that sells for less than $10 as well as empanadas, lamb chops and craft cocktails on offer.
And Bret gives the lowdown on some saucy new fast-food items he tasted. Wendy’s introduced Saucy Nuggs, its version of chicken nuggets tossed and coated with sauce. There’s a choice of seven flavor combos — four spicy and three a little tamer. He also sampled Sonic’s Groovy Fries, an update that gives the fries deeper grooves. Supposedly, that makes them better for dipping in new Groovy Sauce, a blend of ranch, herbs and Sriracha. Listen to hear what Bret thinks about these new items.
Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.
