MO restaurants struggling with increased costs

A number of Missouri restaurant closures have been in the news. Buddy Lahl with the Missouri Restaurant Association says he does not have specific numbers on how many have closed in the last few months, but says there are many challenges right now to running a restaurant, compounded with January being traditionally a very slow month for dining out.

He says going to a restaurant now has to be more than just a convenience for customers, it has to be an experience.

“So when you go out to eat in a restaurant, it's an experience from the hostess greeting you when you come in all the way through your dinner. The server has to be great, the food has to be great, and there has to be a perceived value in it because going out to eat is. I wouldn't call it a luxury, but it is. It is something that people enjoy doing. So we have to make it a good experience and try to keep it as reasonably priced as possible.”

Restaurants weathered COVID and the challenges that brought them. Now they're struggling with spiraling food prices and higher labor and operating costs. Lahl says there's only so much restaurants can raise prices before people stop eating out. Consumers are already weary of the high cost of food, in general.

“The consumer is very cautious about how they spend their money now. And it's even expensive to go to the grocery store just to bring food home to cook. So if you have a family of four, even if you're just feeding yourself, it costs quite a bit more than it did a few years ago.”