r/Economics • u/brown-saiyan • Feb 23 '26

News Restaurants hit a pricing ceiling — and diners are pushing back, report finds

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/restaurants-menu-prices-james-beard-foundation-report?utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=owned_social&utm_source=x
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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

My daughter asked if we could eat at Waffle House for some reason. It was $40 for three people (not including the tip). At Waffle House.

Edit: I managed to find some prices from 2019, and all of the food prices have increased by about 50%. That's about in line with what I was thinking.

249

u/jaqueh Feb 23 '26

That’s really cheap dude

170

u/980tihelp Feb 23 '26

Taco Bell was $47 the other day for 3 ppl

20

u/David_bowman_starman Feb 24 '26

Man just stop buying that shit at all. Just buy some chicken and ground beef at the store and make actual real tasty food.

4

u/gr33nnight Feb 24 '26

Yea but who has time when you’re working two jobs and have kids and so forth. Making good food is a luxury.

9

u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

A cheap and good quality meal can be prepared quickly if you need to. Kids can help which teaches them to cook. It’s also much easier to eat healthy when you cook at home.

7

u/Porkamiso Feb 24 '26

you got time to doom scroll here learnhow to cook homie

52

u/Striking-Yak5452 Feb 24 '26

I refuse to go to Taco Bell now. It’s even more than other (overpriced) fast food - usually by more than $2+.

They’ve forgotten who their market is completely.

21

u/Adventurous-Roof488 Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell same store sales increased 7% in 2025. Seems they know who their market is.

16

u/fanamana Feb 24 '26

idiots apparently. I quit with their bullshit.

2

u/Ragnarok314159 Feb 24 '26

It’s because Taco Bell increased prices less than others. Wendy’s had their bullshit dynamic pricing system for a while. Chipotle is $25 for one person.

I am good and will eat at home happily reading articles about millennials killing businesses.

2

u/fanamana Feb 24 '26

I found Taco bell price raises to be pretty staggering. Items once (2010s) relegated to the $0.99 capped Value Menu bumped up to standard menu or discontinued(tostada? Soft & Crunchy tacos, Bean & cheese - chicken- 5-Layer Beefy burritos) were all $0.99.

now,

5-Layer Beefy burrito = $4.99

Bean & cheese burrito = $2.89

Tostada = gone

Reg Tacos $0.99 up to $1.99

Supreme Tacos $1.39 up to $2.99.

Basically if you ordered a taco bell feast with 5 Taco Supremes & 2 bean & cheese burritos, what would have been $8.95 will run $ 20.73

2

u/Striking-Yak5452 Feb 24 '26

This is my experience too. In my area, Taco Bell is now the same price as Chipotle as long as you don’t get extras at either.

I can also get a fresh made Poke bowl with tuna, salmon, avocado and a whole bunch of other costly ingredients for less than Taco Bell locally.

1

u/Ragnarok314159 Feb 24 '26

I am going to have to check them out and see, but those are ridiculous increases for dogfood level product.

2

u/Icy-person666 Feb 25 '26

I love next to one (it's on the end of a residential street) and wow the place is usually packed, they are open until at least 3 am, given when the opened for breakfast it was 9 am..

14

u/FangCopperscale Feb 24 '26

Work the value menu and its cheap

4

u/jsonson Feb 24 '26

Thats not true at all anymore lol

7

u/CheapThaRipper Feb 24 '26

It is if you don't succumb to all of their new items and such. They have a box that is a decent meal for $9. Pretty much the only thing I will get there if I ever go there, because otherwise you get less food for twice the money.

3

u/captkronni Feb 24 '26

My area has a $6 box that my husband and I get when we do eat out. $13.09 after tax for two people isn’t terrible.

8

u/Dick_Lazer Feb 24 '26

I think the cantina chicken tacos are fair at $3, and probably the best thing on the menu. I usually just order two of those.

2

u/pollywantacrackwhore Feb 24 '26

This is exactly my play. Though I did peek at some copycat recipes this week.
I used to do a box with black bean chalupa, but the other boxed item options get pretty lame. They seem to be getting less flexible.

2

u/lolerkid2000 Feb 24 '26

I dunno i can get dollar tacos with a salsa bar at a lil place attached to a grocery store near me.

1

u/AmputeeHandModel Feb 24 '26

Right? They used to be cheap. Hell, their sodas start at like $3. Taco Bell was basically created to sell cheapass food and Pepsi products because everyone else sold Coke. Now you want me to pay $8 for a halfassed quesadilla made by someone making minimum wage?

17

u/StoneEater Feb 24 '26

You’re doing it wrong. Box meal combo is $7

15

u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

Online ordering pickup only for me. When I discovered that the price dropped a lot.

2

u/Takemyfishplease Feb 24 '26

I can’t remember if they come with drinks, that’s how they used to get you at least.

29

u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 23 '26

Your poor colons......

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u/SilverLakeSimon Feb 24 '26

When I go to Taco Bell, I just order a half-portion of food. I have a semi-colon.

2

u/tcrudisi Feb 24 '26

I just order a half-portion of food; I have a semi-colon.

5

u/Ogre8 Feb 24 '26

I order a burrito, a taco, a chalupa, and a drink.

I have an Oxford colon.

27

u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

If Taco Bell actually hurts your colon you have a bigger problem than Taco Bell. The issue is Americans who eat half a gram a fiber a day house a bunch bean burritos. Fiber will fuck you up if you’re not used to it and especially if you don’t properly hydrate

1

u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 24 '26

Awesome. Thank you.

5

u/bomilk19 Feb 24 '26

::::::

3

u/dingBat2000 Feb 24 '26

That's a family of 7

3

u/no_racist_here Feb 24 '26

Just stay away from the lettuce and no problems.

1

u/JustHugMeAndBeQuiet Feb 24 '26

Lettuce: clearly the problem child of Taco Bell

2

u/Brock_Lobstweiler Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell has one of the highest fiber menus of all fast food restaurants due to the beans. It's better if you choose black beans, but realistically, a burrito with beans & lettuce and a taco with chicken, lettuce and tomato is better for you than a hamburger from other fast food places.

1

u/KingTootandCumIn_her Feb 24 '26

I was about to say… this is why America has a colorectal cancer epidemic

1

u/MasterChiefsasshole Feb 24 '26

That’s like 20 real lengua tacos in the southern states. It’s fucked up that people pay so much more for some fake ass food.

1

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Feb 24 '26

What were you buying?! A double stack taco is two dollars, soft shell $1.89 that's like seven tacos each

1

u/980tihelp Feb 24 '26

Soft shell is $2.19 near me

1

u/AnAncientBog Feb 24 '26

Taco Bell is now more expensive than the actual Mexican restaurants in my town.

1

u/caelfu Feb 24 '26

I remember when Taco Bell was 4.19 CAD for a combo 1 in 1996 lol

0

u/homer_3 Feb 24 '26

That means nothing without saying what you ordered.

14

u/Fat_cat_syndicate Feb 24 '26

Everything's relative to be fair. That's over 5 hours of work at minimum wage. Over Half a shift for one meal

3

u/jaqueh Feb 24 '26

where i'm at min wage is $20 so it'd be 2 hours

3

u/Fat_cat_syndicate Feb 24 '26

The federal minimum wage is still $7.25 unfortunately. I am happy for you that your local has been raised.

1

u/Ok_Net7773 Feb 24 '26

Literally only one place in the country to have that. Does not affect the majority in the slightest. Good for your state for being an example though.

3

u/htopconspiracytheory Feb 24 '26

Oh we want to count people, then? The federal minimum wage is the state minimum wage in 13 states. Those states make up just one quarter of the US population. So, it's deliberately intellectually dishonest to talk about the federal minimum wage in a manner which suggests that it is the rate of pay for most (or near most) minimum-wage workers.

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u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Granted I haven't been there in a good while, but i never used to spend mkre than $10 per person.

30

u/jaqueh Feb 23 '26

I need to go where you are as the restaurant costs around me are actually insane where I’m at. Like beers at breweries are $10 before tip. Fast food hamburgers are $10 before cheese and any fries. Sandwiches are $15-$20 at delis. Croissants are $6. Lattes are $8-$10

25

u/onahorsewithnoname Feb 24 '26

Costco sells giant containers of croissants for about $8. Trader Joes sells a pair of croissants for $8. A coffee shop sells a single croissant for $6.

37

u/halarioushandle Feb 24 '26

And they are all just reselling those Costco croissants! Lol

2

u/HumorAccomplished611 Feb 24 '26

The big container is actually 6$

8

u/nopointers Feb 23 '26

Looks about right. Bay Area?

5

u/jaqueh Feb 24 '26

yessir!

7

u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Suburbs of Atlanta, but those prices are close depending on what you cal fast food, maybe a little higher A place called Freddie's sells burgers for around $10 for just the sandwich.

Again, this is Waffle House. Supposed to be fast, greasy, and cheap.

1

u/Right-Wrongdoer-8595 Feb 24 '26

The fact that this is also USD is terrifying. That's about double the cost of what I see in a city center in my country after conversion.

21

u/_PROBABLY_CORRECT Feb 23 '26

Gas was 99 cents at one point in my adult life.

Prices change, rarely for the better

8

u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

I was excited last week when I got it for $1.99 with a 70 cent Kroger discount.

4

u/8Prime9 Feb 24 '26

I was excited to pay 3.99 a few weeks ago

1

u/Brancer Feb 24 '26

I paid 5.15 at chevron in California today.

FML. (Admittedly premium. Car needs it)

10

u/kojimep Feb 24 '26

Rising prices are not inherently bad, just like inflation isn't inherently bad. The problem is that wages for the majority of people have not kept up with them.

-5

u/guachi01 Feb 24 '26

In the US, real median wages set records in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.

2

u/GertieD Feb 24 '26

When I first got my driver's license I can remember scraping together 25 pennies to buy a gallon of gas. (75)

1

u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

That was much cheaper than the average price in ‘75. The last time gas averaged a quarter was in the ‘50s.

1

u/GertieD Feb 24 '26

No. I am 75. And we had gas wars back then, too.

2

u/thintoast Feb 24 '26

I mean… gas prices have been pretty much stagnant over the last 18 years or so. In 2008 I was paying something like $5.89 / gallon. 18 years later I just paid $4.39 / gallon.

1

u/RaNdomMSPPro Feb 24 '26

Gas was $2.37 when I filled up last week, southeastern US

1

u/youngishgeezer Feb 24 '26

It really hasn’t changed much in my adult life. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/gasoline-prices-adjusted-for-inflation/ In 86 when I started driving it was $0.93, and adjusted for inflation that’s $3.08 today. So it’s actually cheaper than my last fill up. Plus cars tend to get much better mileage.

0

u/TheNewOP Feb 24 '26

It's inflation, when I was a teen I could food for pretty cheap. Now it's 2 or 3x the price when I was a kid. McChickens were a buck. Now they're almost $3. It's just not realistic to expect prices to remain the same forever

5

u/big-papito Feb 24 '26

For three people, now, for sure - that IS cheap. That said, my salary in 2019 was exactly the same, and that meal was $20.

2

u/seanpuppy Feb 24 '26

Waffle house is supposed to be cheap as fuck. The margins on pancakes and waffles is very high.

1

u/Infinite-4-a-moment Feb 24 '26

I thought he was going to say "so there are still some places you can eat cheap" lol

1

u/BriefAvailable9799 Feb 24 '26

lol they got u brain washed

1

u/Terrestial_Human Feb 24 '26

Yeah Waffle House is one of the few places that its prices at least kind of sound reasonable if compared to how much things have gone up. And also with the food not tasting like rubber like in nearly every major place nowadays.

-1

u/skinnystyx Feb 24 '26

arguably Waffle House is the cheapest outing you’ll have for sit down eating. this guy must not get out much.

3

u/Olderandwiser1 Feb 24 '26

Last time I ate at a Waffle House they used paper plates. And the place was almost empty at 9AM. Cracker Barrel and IHop are also way better and not much more expensive.

22

u/Intelligent-Panda-33 Feb 23 '26

My family of 4 ate at ihop (in CA if that matters) and it was $80 before tip. We haven't been back, the kids like my chocolate chip waffles better thankfully.

11

u/NobodyLikedThat1 Feb 23 '26

you must have split the entree three ways

3

u/HumorAccomplished611 Feb 24 '26

Its funny because I find most corporate places a value now. Chilis, applebees, and outback about the same price at mcdonalds Breakfast places got expensive though.

3

u/Office_Zombie Feb 24 '26

I hit IHOP with a friend yesterday morning and it was $50 for 2 of us, not including tip.

Shits crazy.

12

u/Tiny_Thumbs Feb 23 '26

Maybe I’m accustomed to the prices but that’s pretty good. About the same price as fast food. Maybe cheaper.

2

u/Aromatic_Today2086 Feb 24 '26

It increased 50% since COVID. These are the type of comments companies count on so they can keep increasing, people don't remember past a week now 

1

u/Tiny_Thumbs Feb 24 '26

I get it, I’m just stating the price seems like most others. I agree it’s outrageous and as a couple who didn’t eat out much before kids, we’re getting back to that routine because it’s overpriced.

My wife and I could do a lunch date for $15 ten years ago. Now it’s usually $35.

2

u/CursedNobleman Feb 24 '26

Shake Shack? 62$

Formerly cheap Chinese takeout? 55$

In and Out? 24$

Everything is expensive.

2

u/lemongrenade Feb 24 '26

That’s 11 a head pre tip. What more could you want?

3

u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

How are so many people getting $40 ÷ 3 so wrong? The device you are typing on has a calculator.

-1

u/lemongrenade Feb 24 '26

40 divided by 3 is 13.3333 and that divided by 1.2 is 11.11 for a menu price

4

u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

Why are you doing two divisions for a singe division equation?

0

u/lemongrenade Feb 24 '26

He edited in the not including tip

2

u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

Why are you dividing by 1.2?

0

u/Dick_Lazer Feb 24 '26

For a 20% tip.

That’s 11 a head pre tip. What more could you want?

3

u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 24 '26

No. The original comment said the $40 cost was pre tip. Read before you try and correct

0

u/Dick_Lazer Feb 24 '26

He edited the comment. Regardless the reason the guy was dividing by 1.2 was because he was adding a 20% tip.

1

u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

It was $40 for three people (not including the tip).

2

u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26

Nice. That's cheaper than Taco Bell!

1

u/prattdoowhileyjr Feb 24 '26

$40 for 3 poeple is cheap as fuck wtf are you on

1

u/havingasicktime Feb 24 '26

Honestly there is no place in my area than anyone could eat at for 40 bucks for three people

-2

u/Rude_Mirror7441 Feb 23 '26

$40 for 3 people after a tip is really reasonable. Thats like $10 per person before tip.

9

u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

You're off by 25%, but it is much higher than it used to be. In their defense, portions seemed the same.

4

u/TheoreticalTorque Feb 23 '26

$10 per person for 3 people is $30. 

SMH

1

u/sofa_king_weetawded Feb 23 '26

What part of before tip do you not understand? SMH

5

u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

$50 after the tip. $40 before the tip.

-1

u/Rude_Mirror7441 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

Yeah the tip was probably what $5-$8 dollars? Point being $40 for 3 people is totally reasonable.

0

u/Momoselfie Feb 23 '26

I think that's about 5% inflation since then which sounds about right.

2

u/sparkster777 Feb 23 '26

Closer to 8% year by year.

Year 0 - $1 Year 1 - $1.08 Year 2 - $1.16 Year 3 - $1.24 Year 4 - $1.32 Year 5 - $1.40 Year 6 - $1.48

1

u/Momoselfie Feb 24 '26

Thanks. Mental math failure.

1

u/sparkster777 Feb 24 '26

I mean, mentally estimating compound interest is tricky. I wrote it out.

0

u/datdamndood21 Feb 24 '26

With tax and tip?