Gastronomics: dining in?
Kudos to Matt and Ted Lee who wrote in the Sunday NYT magazine about “gastronomics:” the rising cost of fuel as an input in restaurant prices. Although crude oil prices and prices at the pump have retreated recently, fuel prices have still risen sharply over the past year and restaurateurs and those who sell to them are often not able to pass on the price increases.
It’s a good thing that “volatile food and energy prices” don’t factor into the consumer price index!
One aspect the authors don’t consider though is that rising fuel prices might keep restaurant consumers at home instead of eating out. Even if fuel is a minor part of the dining out experience, the expense of the meal (and possibly a sitter) might make a couple stay home and have Trader Joe’s prepared foods or take-out while watching a DVD. They can apply the expense saved to their rising fuel bills. That is a scenario that restaurateurs should fear more than $3.95 fuel surcharges. But hopefully everybody’s not such an economic maximizer.
