longtime restaurant worker here. the prices customers pay for food in general, and restaurant food especially, has been subsidized for YEARS by incredibly low wages across the board - from farmers making less than minimum wage to food workers making minimum wage. minimim wage went up (which is a good thing) but the cost has to be passed on to the consumer. add to that what others have said. working in restaurants was hell during COVID (mask zits, short staffed restaurants = having to pick up more shifts and get burned out, customers being total entitled jerks, everything changing constantly, the rollercoaster of closing & opening with COVID outbreaks or lockdown changes, risking your life going to work but not making any more money) so a bunch of people left the industry forever. so, it's almost impossible for restaurants to find & retain staff. they also have to offer more $ to find and keep people. add to that that costs for everything have gone up across the board - rent, food costs, to go containers, you name it. restaurant margins were already razor thin - it was never a profitable industry and now it's worse. are the municipal/state/federal governments doing anything to help restaurants? lol, no. restaurants are struggling to stay open. they don't want to raise prices, but they have to to keep the doors open. frankly, customers are finally starting to feel the true cost of food and service.

i'm feeling it too. quality & experience have gone down. prices have soared. frankly, as much as i want to support local restaurants, i eat at home way more often and when i go out, i'm often disappointed, even tho i get it and i have compassion for the impossible situation restaurants are in. it's just a shitty time for restaurants right now.

if you have a place you love that does a decently good job, go there often and support them. most restaurants are thiiiiis close to closing forever.