ATLANTA — It’s no surprise as food prices rice that eating out has become more expensive. But how much more expensive?
A new study from Finance Buzz found in the last five years that popular chains have hiked their prices by an average of 42%. That’s double the national inflation rate.
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Breakfast restaurants facing high egg prices saw the biggest increases.
According to Finance Buzz, Waffle House nearly double their prices in the last five years (96%) and prices at IHOP rising more than 80%. Among other chains that topped the list were Texas Roadhouse at 46% and TGI Fridays at 45%.
The good news? Egg prices are finally falling. But this week, the Federal Reserve warned that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are pushing inflation up again.
“There are going to be tariffs. And they tend to bring growth down,” said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
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Labor costs and other factors are also hitting restaurants. Another potential factor: More Americans are eating alone these days.
The World Happiness Report out this week found that 1 in 4 Americans now report eating all of their meals alone the previous day. The number is higher among those under the age of 25, who report an 80% increase in dining alone in recent decades.
Doctors increasingly worried about loneliness and isolation in society are not surprised.
“People are more divided than they ever have been. If there’s issues with mistrust, and we have these technological barriers that are keeping people isolated, we are living more so on screens and on phones, and less in person,” said Dr. Alok Patel, ABC News medical contributor.
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