Restaurants are finally taking price hikes off the menu

The share of restaurant operators who say they’re still raising prices has shrunk this year. Trump’s promised tariffs could influence what comes next.

Inflation is drifting down in fits and starts, and so are restaurant menu prices.

Consumer prices were 2.6% higher in October than the same time a year ago, according to federal data released Wednesday, up slightly from September’s 2.4% annual rate. But while the “last mile” in the fight against inflation has proved slow going, dining out costs are moving in a more affordable direction.

The prices of food purchased away from home rose just 0.2% from September to October, down from 0.3% the previous two months, as restaurants ease up on price hikes. About 34% of operators told Toast that they’ve still raised prices over the past year, compared with 42% last year, the point-of-sale software provider found in a survey it released late last month. 

“If you think back to last year, there was a lot of uncertainty about how 2024 would play out,” said Kelly Esten, Toast’s chief marketing officer. Since then, an improving economy has restaurants “feeling more optimistic about the future than last year,” she said.

Consumers’ hunt for bargains has forced a reckoning over restaurant prices this year. Fast-food brands like McDonald’s have leaned into value menus to lure customers back, and full-service chains like Red Lobster are embarking on ambitious makeovers to fend off bankruptcies that have rippled through the sector.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/restaurants-are-finally-taking-price-hikes-menu-rcna178412

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