[Surly1]

Not a good time to go to culinary school.

Date night now means going to the Hot Food counter at Kroger and ordering Swedish Meatballs from the steamer tray.

https://www.aier.org/article/the-end-of-the-restaurant-as-we-know-it/

RE

Evidence for collapse.  An Alien sociologist of the far future will see it as a thermometer measuring the consequences of multiple breakdown points.  Social and economic strains with hot times ahead.

Even in a city of millions.  Good luck finding something open late.

That was a good article. But as it makes clear, it is the end of restaurants as WE know them, meaning middlebrow restaurants. Rising food costs, declining foot traffic and shrinking margins make operations a loser. To say nothing of the fact that J6P is utterly and completely tapped out. For many the weekly "family dinner out" is unaffordable.
That said, high end dining always does well. The article says costs are up 22% since the pandemic. The wealthy don't care. Just bring me my Truffle risotto, foie gras and lobster bisque....

[RE]

That said, high end dining always does well. The article says costs are up 22% since the pandemic. The wealthy don't care. Just bring me my Truffle risotto, foie gras and lobster bisque....

True also, and in cities like NY and Seattle with a large population of 1%ers, the 3 star Michelin eateries do fine.  Smaller less cosmopolitan cities have few if any of these restaurants to begin with, so the rich get left eating at the same restaurant all the time.  Even truffles get boring if you eat them all the time.

The other problem the high end restaurants have is with finding the service personnel.  They don't pay the bus boys and dishwashers enough to live on.  Even with tips the wait staff doesn't make enough in NYC, and you have waiters pulling down 6 figures.  The head chef makes big money, but even high end restaurants don't pay the Sous chefs the $200K it takes to live even out in Brooklyn commuting in to work.  So some of the better restaurants shut down too.  Smith & Wollenski's shut down after the 2008 crash.

Fortunately here in Anchorage, Moose's Tooth Pizzeria Brewerie my favorite is doing quite well and weathered CoVid with takeout.    Prices still affordable too.



RE