The hospitality poor mouth

I know a couple of cafes in small towns that are wedged busy all week. They are busy because the food and service is top class. People go out of their way to go to such places.

6 euro for a chicken salad sandwich in a garage yesterday ?? Losing the run of themselves.

Will never die out in spite of certain celebrity entrepreneurs burning themselves and creditors and getting sympathy from the media

To be kind I think the Viscount means if something/anything is priced at more than e12 he will choose another item on the menu.

Well rental costs must be mental too.

Thats needs to be seriously looked at.

Landlords creaming it for sitting on their holes

jaysus, back in 2004 I can remember people paying $59 for a basic burger and $149 for a tarted up one.

Therr are few enough restaurants on 5th itself - it was DB Bistro Moderne between 5th/6th in the low 40s. My obtuse point is that it can be possible to have expensive ingredients or techniques in what is ostensibly a cheap food product. The problem in Ireland, being back 8 years, is that there are too many outlets which are simply expensive without reason. On burgers, too many people offering a “steak” burger when such a product should be made from cheaper cuts. In order to maintain margins, restaurants need to pack more flavour and quality in with less expensive ingredients if they get caught in a price vice.

Edit: and to be clear, I never ate that burger. Foie gras is not something I like, truffles I can barely stand and I see not reason to wrap braised short rib in mince and call it a burger!

Most of us wouldn't even consider paying €50 for a burger no matter what it is or who made it. But that was always the case even in good money times. Again, for most of us.

Problem is that what used to be €5 burgers are now €15 and nothing has changed. In fact, you're probably getting less overall now anyway, but at an inflated price. That's my issue. The "cheap" food places are all €15 or more and as a result the places that do actually have good food are gone into the >€20 range. A near 100% increase in some places but for less overall and no improvement in quality.

Local burger joint, hasn't gotten better nor gotten worse. Used to have the special as a burger, plain chip and can for €10. That special is now only available during quiet times and no longer includes the drink. Otherwise its €18. As a result I don't get it that often anymore. So I'm gone from at least once every 2 weeks to rarely in that place now. And if they can sell it at €10 during quiet times......

Wine has gone up about 30% everywhere. Bottles that used to be in the mid €20s are in the mid €30s now, many places have nothing under €30.

It's always been a complete rip off. The place down the way from us charges 28 for a bottle that they get in for around 6. I know this because we know the waiting staff pretty well. Absolute nonsense.

We still go there, but it's once in a while now as opposed to the regularity that we used to. It's just not worth it any more.

Yeah, I've heard all the excuses Breezy. But I'm not paying mark ups like that.

We eat the food and buy the wine afterwards down the road.

I'de say the hospitality industry is better off if you stay at home.

No other industry has to deal with such a large number of blowhards who think that being a customer in an industry makes them experts on the running of it.

GP ?

No it's 74.2%.

But it for 6 and sells for 28 (including VAT) is a gross profit of 17.33e

That computation doesn't make since. It's close to a 400 per cent mark up which is beyond extortionate. A 75 per cent cent mark up would see a 6 euro bottle selling for 10.50 euro far removed from 28 euro.

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Gross Profit is essentially the standard way the industry generates prices. Knowing what GP you need to hit is the difference between a lot of good and bad businesses. I worked for a lot of guys thought they could just copy whatever price the pub down the road had.

I would say 75% is on the high end but not knowing the circumstances of the venue I certainly wouldn't judge a place for that margin. Anywhere I have seen has been between 69 and 75 and a lot of that would depend on rent or ownership of premises. I have heard of 65 or lower but they were places like taprooms designed to showcase a product rather than make money.

I say most places would love a 75% GP! Don’t think it’s the current climate for most at the moment though.

Hospitality and food in ireland is suffering because Irish customers are living on a different planet of customer expectations with costs for meat, premises and labour. Rent is not low, wages need to be paid, and there is 30-50% waste of the raw materials.

We're also an island, that's more expensive in itself, as you need to ship/fly stuff in.

For some reason there's a comparison running with the US, which is bizaar to my mind. US has abundant space, massive factory farms, labour that effectively work for free, and then beg the customer for tips , expecting 25%. Compare with something reasonable at least.

Here are some chipper costs in europe, not big cities → small towns.

Swiss ones, for giggles. 2 chicken nuggets, that'll be 10 of your finest euros.

Restaurants will charge what they think people will pay. If people are not willing to be fleeced then prices will come down. I've seen prices rise by as much as 50% in a few years yet wages, pensions etc have not risen anywhere near that.

They have zero intention of passing any possible cut on; basically.

The first time it was cut, during the "jobs budget" in ~2012 or so, lots of places did pass it on; but not the COVID era cut.

Here is a restaurant in London honestly stating that they make 80% GP gross profit margin on cod's heads.

Their overall GP is 72%

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g9folmE0QgA

During a time when it has been well reported that costs were skyrocketing across society.

Sure there are gougers out there but for the majority those increases were necessary due to cost of product going up. You can't maintain GP at the same selling price if cost price keeps going up.

But it's just so much easier for "I'm a Guinness man" and "I'm a Heineken man" to be angry at the bar person than angry at the brand they are a slave to.

Had a restaurant for 9 years in the 2000s.

Its no surprise to me what is going on these days.

Rent reviews every 5 years.

Revenue calling in the Covid debt warehousing.

People drinking less…that is where the margins are made.

Raw material costs going through the roof.

Why would you do it.