A "Restaurant Apocalypse" Is Starting To Sweep Across America, And That Is Really Bad News For The U.S. Economy

The Economic Collapse Blog ^ | 06/02/2024 | Michael Snyder

[Sequoyah101]

We saw it Memorial Day at the cemetery. Vastly fewer numbers of flowers on graves than in years past. Just too expensive. Ours went from about $200 to more than $500 and that was with cutting back from decorating 6 graves to 3. Looks like many other people just said no. We drive to the family home town for decoration day. Our annual meal at the hometown favorite restaurant went from $50 to over $70. We may rethink that just on principal alone.

FJB

[Mogger]

Hard times are already here, and it sucks.

Retired on a fixed income, no extras for us.

We are retired and glad only part of our income is "fixed".

Thank God for the efforts of the late Col. Albert J. Amatuzio.

All I have to do (or anyone) is also expend a little effort, creating new accounts.

Our income is whatever I make it, our "play money".

It put our daughter through 4 years of college in Manhattan, bought 2 Unimogs, some Land Rovers, trailers, a Skidoo Expedition, a Rokon and I "retired" early.

Amsoil, click here to get started

[Pajamajan]

Keep voting Democrat.

[Chad_the_Impaler]

Here's another angle:

[dfwgator]

Stopped at a Buc-ee’s thinking of getting a burrito. $8.50!

No thanks!

[PGR88]

We don’t go out much, but had some out-of-town visitors, whom we took out, and the bill at an average Italian restaurant was nearly $500. Crazy

Food trucks will be our main restaurant experience of the future.

[cherry]

in my area, restaurants still seem busy....but who knows the understory.

[SPDSHDW]

I’ve been saying since they starter handing out money in 2020, that we won’t be seeing the full effects of that until years later. And we’re approaching that point now

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[Jaysin]

back during covid when the insanity was at the highest level, I did sort of predict this. I kept saying how many older and established business’s may just not reopen after covid. i.e. lets just retire now and not deal with the headaches. running a restaurant is hard enough — who needs the additional hassle of government intervention in my attempt at fulfilling the American dream!

[linMcHlp]

Democrat Party Domestic Policy is CRIME - driving people away from ______ .

[mikelets456]

Same here in the North east….probably because we have a high population of overpaid government workers.

[9422WMR]

“ Stopped at a Buc-ee’s thinking of getting a burrito. $8.50!”
They sell beer cheaper than anywhere in the county. Their gas price is .15 cheaper per gallon than competitors. Guess they have to make up for that with higher food prices.

[TalBlack]

Even if you have the means to pay for it you don’t enjoy food you think you paid too much for. Hitting the diner for breakfast these days just isn’t any fun.

[KSCITYBOY]

nailed it

[BlueLancer]

For example, the cost of orange juice is expected to go up dramatically because of ... the Duke Brothers ...

[Zhang Fei]

[back during covid when the insanity was at the highest level, I did sort of predict this. I kept saying how many older and established business’s may just not reopen after covid. i.e. lets just retire now and not deal with the headaches. running a restaurant is hard enough — who needs the additional hassle of government intervention in my attempt at fulfilling the American dream!]

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Retail crime has skyrocketed since criminal justice reform zeroed out prison sentences for many crimes. Call it the George Floyd era. Did you notice an increase in dining and dashing? I would expect it from the usual crime-prone demographic, but do wonder if it extended to your particular food niche.

And by crime-prone segment, I am referring to the subject of this White House polemic:

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2022/05/09/expanding-economic-opportunity-for-formerly-incarcerated-persons/#:~:text=All%20told%2C%20as%20of%202010,rate%20from%201970%20to%202007.
[All told, as of 2010, nearly 1 in 3 Black men have felony convictions. These astronomical figures are largely due to the nearly four-fold increase in the incarceration rate from 1970 to 2007.]

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And these are merely the ones with felony convictions. What about the felons who pled down to misdemeanors? What about the felons who got off on technicalities? And the ones who were never caught or charged for lack of evidence?

[Boardwalk]

Lunch for 2 at a nice seafood restaurant in Gloucester MA yesterday 99 bucks including tip. That is no appetizers or dessert just 2 entrees one coke and one glass of rose..I was happy it was under $100. Now if we got the lobster it would have been $200. A couple years ago the same lunch would have been 49 bucks. Place was packed!

[Zhang Fei]

[In the case of Boston Market, a chain that once had nearly 1,000 locations nationwide, the company’s death has been slow, but the pace of its demise has picked up over the past few months.]

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The issue with Boston Market is niche specific. Every grocery store from Walmart to the smallest in the biz started making rotisserie chickens. Ron Popeil came out with a rotisserie chicken machine for home cooks, but that was somewhat exotic. Then toaster oven manufacturers started incorporating it as a standard feature. One hour cook times for perfectly seasoned and done chicken. What’s amazing isn’t that Boston Chicken expired, but that it kept going this long.

[exPBRrat]

Democrats could break an anvil.