To Dine or Not To Dine
Reader advisory: this article contains more questions than answers (don’t you hate that??).
With the November mayoral race leading into the new Mamdani administration, there has been so much talk about affordability. There are many lenses through which we can look at affordability – from transportation to housing to childcare – but I’m going to choose to ruminate on something a bit frivolous: dining out.
There is no joy in life quite like going out to eat. Obviously this can mean a whole range of experiences, from sitting at the counter at a diner to a once-in-a-lifetime 8 course meal at Per Se. But overall, eating out is one of life’s great luxuries, and it’s something that many of us who live in New York City do often. I mean, why do we even stomach the other exorbitant costs of living in NYC, if not to go out to eat? We live in one of the restaurant capitals of the country! We have so many different types of food at our fingertips.
However, lately I’ve been finding myself struggling with the whole calculus of it all, both as a customer and as an employee of a small business. Are we becoming a City (or a country?) where the divide between the haves and have nots is whether or not you can afford to go out to dinner? (Btw - coincidentally, after I wrote this article, “$40 Half Chicken-Gate” made a huge stir on social media, so clearly this is something many others are contemplating as well!).
In the last few months, I have left restaurants feeling frustrated and ripped off, having spent upwards of $100 on a mediocre meal. As a restaurant employee (I bartend once a week at Cowgirl Seahorse), I’ve also felt guilty dropping someone a $100 check when I didn’t feel like they got $100 worth of value from what I served them. At the same time, I’ve seen the profit and loss statements at restaurants, and I know just how tight everything is – restaurants have to charge what we’re charging, otherwise they go out of business.
For a while, coming out of COVID, it felt like inflation was a runaway train, and that was most apparent in the cost of going out. What does a margarita cost in Lower Manhattan? $12? $13? “Well, now the place down the street is charging $15, and our insurance just went up 30%, so we might as well charge $16 so we don’t have to reprint the menus again.” I remember at one point a local bartender described New York City as “you walk out the door and $20 bills go flying out of your pocket,” and I think these days it’s more like $50s. There was a period of time during COVID when we truly had no idea what money was worth, and you could walk out of a bar having paid $18 for a draft beer (yes, that happened to me in Hell’s Kitchen).
Fortunately, that precarious period of inflation seems to have leveled out a bit, and we at least have some sense of what we can expect to pay for things when we go out. Of course, as I alluded to above, this is also highly dependent on the neighborhood. A beer in Hudson Yards is not the same as a beer in Alphabet City or Sunset Park! (also a great reason to get out and explore the outer boroughs). Oh, and then of course there is the vacation destination round-up! After spending last summer bouncing between various tri-state area getaways, from Fire Island to the Jersey Shore, the vacation mark-up is real, and I have to acknowledge that I’m as much paying for the experience of being in Cherry Grove as I am for the $25 cocktail I just ordered.
I appreciate the writing that Pete Wells did for the New York Times, because it was always focused on “does it make sense?” Does the price make sense for the quality of the food and the experience, whether you’re at a shack at the beach or a Michelin starred restaurant? And obviously Wells was speaking from the perspective of the customer, but it also has to make sense for the restaurant. And there has been some press lately about high-profile restaurant closings – places for which it seemed unimaginable that they weren’t making money.
Anyway, here are some brainstormed ideas about how to make it make sense for both businesses and customers:
Ideas for businesses:
In many neighborhoods in NYC, and particularly in Manhattan, you have to recognize that you are serving a wide range of customers, and figure out how to make your money with the high rollers (hello, $40 cadillac margarita aka the “idiot upcharge”), while having something to offer for the rest of us (like a $14 frozen margarita that will leave you slurring your words).
Your employees also need to understand how to discern and execute this (AKA UP-SELL!)
Especially coming out of COVID, the experience is a big part of the calculus. People want to go out and have experiences, they want to interact with the staff, they want to get a sense of humanity. Otherwise… why leave the house?
Know your comparisons: The Seaport has always been a luxury shopping and dining area, but now even more so with Pier 17, and I honestly feel less guilty serving a concert-goer a $20 margarita, knowing that it’s $10 cheaper than at The Pier.
What are your hacks as a customer?
What’s a place known for? You’re probably going to be disappointed if you order a glass of wine at a dive bar or tacos at a burger joint.
BYOB spots! At Tacos El Bronco, which also happens to be very close to my apartment, you can have an incredible home cooked meal with a $20 muscadet that would be $60 if you were paying restaurant prices.
Who are your friends with corporate cards? I’ll let a tech company pay for my meal and not feel guilty about it
My mom used to date a guy who would “pre-eat” before going out to dinner, to save money on food.
FWIW, here are some places I’ve never walked out of feeling ripped off:
The Brooklyn Ice House (even when James isn’t working)
Greenpoint Fish and Lobster (a recent discovery)
(I’m realizing these are mostly in Brooklyn … help me expand my horizons, people!).
But all of this does lead to broader questions, like why is eating out such a luxury here?? In many European countries, people of all classes drink decent wine and eat fresh food!! What have they figured out that we haven’t?? Do restaurants have to own their buildings to make it work? Or have a sweetheart deal with their landlord?
Anyway, I am writing this not as an economic development professional but as a person who likes to go out to eat, and I invite dialogue with any of you! Write me at theo@perch-advisors.com
