PT 1: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?
Headline - ‘Trouble On Menu’
“Rising fuel prices are hitting restaurants hard, a double whammy in an industry where many already struggle to survive.
“Couple that with Ontario’s rising minimum wage and an extra 7% tax on food in the form of HST in B.C., and many in the industry are facing “death by a thousand cuts,” said the head of a national association representing restaurants.” (Kelly Pedro, Mar. 11, London Free Press)
Here’s how I’m feeling.
If I can’t eat out several times per week, then my life - my lovely, normal, delightful, easy, convenient set of routines - will be over. OVER!
If I have to pay more for an over-sized supper (nicely large enough for me to get tomorrow’s lunch or dinner out of it), then I’ll be hopping mad. HOPPING!
["I wanna live like it's the 1940s."]
If I can’t pull up to a drive-thru window and pick up a neatly folded bag of hot, fast, cheap, sweet-and-salty-smelling and fatty-tasting grilled fresh supper (like, tonight’s burger night) - while I wait about 30 seconds - then I’ll likely put my fist through a wall. A WALL!
I mean, what are the alternatives around here?
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PT 2: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?
Headline - ‘Trouble On Menu’
“Rising fuel prices are hitting restaurants hard, a double whammy in an industry where many already struggle to survive.
“Canadians love eating out. In a poll by the (national restaurant) association, going out to a restaurant was the number one activity Canadians did with friends and family.
“On a typical day, Canadians make 17.7 million visits to restaurants, the association says.” (Kelly Pedro, Mar. 11, London Free Press)
Here’s what I think:
As fuel prices and a dozen other thing$ go North ($$), the number of visits to restaurants will slowly decline to 17.6 million visits.
Some of our favourite diners will raise their prices on their ‘daily special.’ Real tears will be shed inside one of the Malibu restaurants by customers and management staff right here in Deforest City.
Some of our favourite eateries will close. Real tears will be shed outside one of the Malibu restaurants while a manager nails a big piece of plywood over the front door.
The price of nails will rise. The new price on an Estwing hammer will break my heart.
Slowly, gradually, begrudgingly, a small handful of Canadians will attempt to cook a meal of their own in order to save money. Again, real tears will be shed. The gnashing of teeth will be heard in Wortley Village but the exact location of the sound will elude listeners for some time.
A little-known columnist will write about how he saves real money by making his own Frontier Stew, breakfast cereal and lasagna. He won’t win a Pulitzer. He will be labelled a loon. One teenager will politely suggest he’s full of crap.
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PT 3: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?
“...London (England) became the world’s largest city during the coal-powered industrial revolution, a tipping point for the steep rise of Earth’s population. Wealthy countries use many times more resources per capita than poorer nations, but as global incomes rise, increased consumption may stress the planet more than population growth.”
“In 1975 only three cities worldwide topped ten million. Today 21 such megacities exist, most in developing countries, where urban areas absorb much of the globe’s rising population.” (National Geographic, Jan. 2011)
The Earth’s population reached 1 billion in the early 1800s.
It reached 2 billion about 130 years later in 1930.
It reached 3 billion 30 years later in 1960. I was 11 years old and cannot remember any big party at the time.
It reached 4 billion 14 years later in 1974. I was too busy teaching young students how great the Great Lakes were to notice. Bob Dylan released the album Planet Waves. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.
It reached 5 billion 13 years later in 1987. Bob Dylan didn’t put out an album that year. I was bummed out.
It reached 6 billion 12 years later in 1999. Bob Dylan didn’t release an album that year as well. I was bummed out again.
It will reach 7 billion 12 years later in 2011. I think Dylan has something in the works this time ‘round to mark the occasion.
According to National Geographic, it may reach 8 billion 13 years from now in 2024, then taper off a bit before hitting 9 billion 20 years later in 2045.
And the magazine states: “In the coming decades, despite falling birthrates, the population will continue to grow - mostly in poor countries. If the billions of people who want to boost themselves out of poverty follow the path blazed by those in wealthy countries, they too will step hard on the planet’s resources.” (pg. 40)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch in London, Ontario, Canada, where many people spend a smaller portion of disposable income on food than anywhere else in the world, there is a growing concern about rising food prices and that restaurant menus will change to reflect higher costs.
Several people are also nervous about the prospect of having to fry their own eggs and sausages in order to save money.
Will the rising global population affect the price of food on our plate as well?
Is there a magic pill we can take to make the bad news go away?
["i'm goin' for a burger. 10 cents. That's with a shake."]
Can we return to the 1940s when a burger and fries cost 10 cents? (That may have include a chocolate malt).
I’ll look into it!
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PT 4: Is ‘restaurant trouble’ big trouble?
Earlier I asked three very important questions. I now have the answers, thanks to my dependable and completely trust-worthy research department.
One. “Will the rising global population affect the price of food on our plate... ?”
The answer is YES. Most definitely.
However, there are three things that presently buffer Canadians somewhat from rising commodity prices, food costs and much-higher menu prices.
(According to economists, the three factors that currently buffer Canadians are as follows:
The high Canadian dollar
the high proportion of food costs unrelated to crop prices such as marketing and transportation
intense retail competition)
Two. “Is there a magic pill we can take to make the bad news go away?”
No. Many thing$ are going North ($$ co$t-wi$e $$), right along with global population, and will continue to do so. Menu prices at the Malibu Restaurant will eventually rise and cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Three. “Can we return to the 1940s when a burger and fries cost 10 cents?”
Dream on.
Rather than dreaming on, however, we should make an effort to discover ways (though they be transient, like the aforementioned buffers, i.e., the high Canadian dollar, retail competition, etc.) to deal with the inevitable higher restaurant tabs.
For example, if eating out is dear to your heart and you believe that the Canadian pace of eating out should be maintained (i.e., at 17.7 million restaurant visits per year), perhaps you could try the following:
Prioritize your monthly expenses in order of importance to your lifestyle, reduce spending in less-important areas, take the money saved and go grab a burger.
For example, maybe TV Cable isn’t really high on your list anymore now that Charlie Sheen’s TV career is in the toilet.
That fifty, sixty, or seventy dollars per month (depending on the cable package) will buy a nice evening out on the town or a pretty darn big bag o’ burgers every Friday, right?
So, cancel your cable. Spend the savings on restaurant meals.
(I think I’m onto something here).
And, how much money are you spending on your cell phone, phone bill, iPad, gas, oil, tires and hubcaps for the car, Levis, Nike sneakers, new sweaters, books, street meat outside Canadian Tire, cartons or bags of cigarettes, cookies, ice cream, soda pop, cat food or doggie kibble and vet services for the year, curtains, couches, shag carpet, big screen TVs and Ottomans for the rec room, or on a myriad of other stuff too lengthy to mention?
["Forget about feedin' the pig. Support your local diner!"]
Admittedly, with rising prices everywhere, something will have to give, but many Canadians have hundreds of things on their lifestyle priority list and can easily shed a few. I bet some people don’t even know what they spend their money on. It just flows through their hands in a habitual consumerism-style frenzy each week. Heck, if it wasn’t for the flashing neon lights above the front door of restaurants and diners, some people would even forget to eat between shipping trips.
So, I don’t think the restaurant industry should worry too much about raising their prices a bit.
Do you?
And the headline that sparked four related posts, i.e., “Trouble on menu,” shouldn’t cause panic for the average Canadian for now.
Right?
Shop on. Eat out. Pay tomorrow.
***
How was that for a suitable ending?
Sure, I could have said ‘reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for tough times ahead,’ but “Shop on. Eat out. Pay tomorrow” has such a lovely ring to it.
***
What’s this world coming to?
Please click here to for more information about Thing$ Going North $$.
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