The act of preparing a meal for another human being is one of the most loving actions a person can do. It’s ingrained in our genetic memory: when we share a meal together, we feel connected, whether it be sitting by the cave fire in 10,000 BCE enjoying some mammoth kebab or heating Trader Joe’s pasta in 2026 AD in a cramped dorm kitchen.
The food service industry takes this intimate connection a step further: come in, sit down, let yourself be taken care of. Eat, drink and enjoy yourself after a long day – you deserve to let professionals who’ve dedicated their careers to serving good food take you away from life’s worries for a few hours. Dining out is one of the greatest pleasures of the modern world – until it’s not.
2020. Social distancing and quarantines force the restaurant industry into a state teetering on collapse. Thousands of restaurants across the United States died with a whimper during the pandemic, and today, that unique spark of enjoying a nice, affordable night out just doesn’t seem to scratch the itch of connection through food that we all once enjoyed. Why hasn’t the restaurant industry rebounded? It’s been over half a decade. Let’s examine.
According to the USDA’s food pricing database, the average mid-range meal for two at a restaurant costs between $50 and $100 in 2025. Food prices in general rose 4.1% for the year, and consequently, foot traffic for many restaurants is at an all-time low. Who can blame the average consumer? Who really wants to spend what could be upward of a day’s wages on a meal? The problem is circular – fewer customers means restaurants aren’t meeting many of their fixed costs, and the short-term solution for small business owners lies in cost-cutting by any means necessary. Paper menus? Too expensive, here’s a QR code. NY strip with compound butter? The best we can do is flank steak and gravy. This serves to further harm the business in the long run, as customers realize that their dining dollar isn’t getting them as quality a meal or overall dining experience as they’ve come to expect and treasure from their favorite local restaurants for years, even decades.
It’s reasonable to say that these small businesses are doing what they have to do to survive, and I still don’t mind giving them my business to a certain extent, but the problem has grown into a tumor on the side of the industry – a complete lack of variety. Why does every menu have cheesesteak eggrolls (which, by the way, should definitely include more than three pieces in one order for the price), mozzarella sticks and fried pickles nowadays? It’s simple: business owners order partially, or even fully, pre-made dishes to supplement their margins. Every burger joint nowadays can be reduced to this samsara-like cycle of suffering where “handhelds” are $22 and don’t come with fries. There’s just no damn variety that offers any value.
Distributors like Sysco run this racket. Some dishes arrive completely frozen, others heavily processed still, and all the restaurant has to do is reheat the components and serve. A discussion could be had on some other day regarding the ethics of some of these distributors’ perhaps unsavory business practices, but the average consumer and culinary connoisseur alike just want to return to one simple thing: the spark of dining out, eating food prepared with love, alongside sharing a meal with loved ones. I’d rather not end this on a pessimistic note, so I’ll applaud the few, but still present, young restaurants that have challenged this dire trend by enduring the brunt of ruthless service industry margins in pursuit of change. We can make a return to the era of the great American restaurant, but a long and arduous journey lies ahead for both consumers and chefs.
