Catering | A salty bill

This is not an illusion: the bill paid by restaurant customers is getting higher and higher. This year, nearly 83% of owners will raise prices on the menu, according to a survey conducted in December 2021 by HRImag and the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ).

Nathaelle Morissette
The Press

10% to 15%

Number of restaurateurs interviewed by The Press have already made price changes to their card, with average increases of 10% to 15% compared to two years ago. And some dishes, especially those made with red meat, saw a larger increase, while others saw smaller increases. The Thai grilled beef salad served in Zibo restaurants! cost $22 in 2019. Customers ordering it now have to pay $27.

In Lanaudière, at Le Coup Monté restaurants (L’Assomption and Repentigny), the price of a plate of beef has jumped 30%, confirms chef Matthieu Perreault. Faced with the increase in the cost of red meat, he and his team decided to opt for higher quality Quebec beef in order to better justify the soaring prices to their customers.

Major chains such as La Cage – Brasserie sportive, where the signature burger (Blitz burger) went from $16.75 (November 2018) to $19.75, and Groupe St-Hubert, which increased its plate of ribs in the dining room from $20 (2019) to $22.50, also had to comply with this “unpleasant” exercise. ” We do not want [avoir à augmenter les prix], but we have no choice if we want to maintain the financial health of our business,” St-Hubert Group President and CEO, Richard Scofield, repeatedly emphasized in an interview. The big boss of the famous rotisseries had difficulty hiding his uneasiness in the face of what seems to be a fatality: to survive, you have to pass on part of the bill to consumers.

The reasons for the increase

Canola oil, cheese, beef, chicken, beer… and even employee uniforms cost more, explains Marc Pelletier, vice-president of marketing and communications at Sportscene, the group that manages La Cage – Brasserie sportive. When he asked his procurement manager if the cost of certain products had gone down over the past two years, he got a long silence in response, he says. “It looks like all areas have been hit,” says Pelletier. Production capacity has been affected, transport costs have increased, payrolls have increased. We also noticed a reduction in supply. Before, you could have two or three suppliers for a product. There, we have one available to us, so we have to negotiate with him. »

“Profit margins are already slim in the restaurant business,” adds Benjamin Chevrefils, vice-president of the Zibo Group! (Zibo! and Vertigo restaurants). “We don’t really have room to dip into that profit margin. To ensure that it was maintained, we had to adjust to maintain the same ratios. »

Rising wages are also among the reasons given for why the burger, salad or chicken wing entrée cost more. “My diver is almost at $20 an hour,” says Matthieu Perreault, an hourly rate he’s willing to pay to keep his loyal employee by his side.

Homemade meatballs and chicken poutine

To avoid passing on the entire bill to customers, the restaurateurs interviewed must thus indulge in a real balancing act by playing with the menu or by reviewing their way of working. The goal: find a way to cut costs. At La Cage, meatballs are now shaped and seasoned in the kitchen. By buying the beef at the wholesale price, the chain, which previously ordered ready-made meatballs, saves money. Even if the company has to pay employees to carry out this task, this new modus operandi still contributes to reducing expenses since the costs of transport (slaughterhouse and processing plant) and packaging of the ready-to-cook pellets are have become very important.

Zibo Group! is counting on its new central kitchen located in Mirabel, an investment of 2.5 million. “It helps us cushion the price increase a little,” says Mr. Chevrefils. We now order the filet mignon in bulk, we portion it ourselves, which allows us to save on volume and be more competitive on the final price. »

The company also made changes to the menu. Duck poutine, which has become too expensive, is now replaced by chicken poutine.

St-Hubert fans will have to do without certain promotions to which they were accustomed. “We will never touch our portions, we will never touch the quality, assures Richard Scofield. But there are some promotions that we may not do this year. »

Less than $1 profit

On a plate consisting of a fries and a Blitz burger (cheddar, bacon), whose cost displayed on the menu is $19.75, La Cage – Brasserie sportive pockets barely $0.99, which is equivalent to 5% gross profit. Note that the company did not want to raise the price of this product excessively. “For our star products, there are psychological limits,” admits Marc Pelletier. Before reaching the top ten, we will prefer to increase another product rather than this one. »

With this in mind, how do restaurateurs manage to have attractive margins? You have to get service employees to generate a “perfect invoice,” says Chevrefils. And this kind of bill is generally composed, for a couple, of a cocktail, a starter (to share or not), a bottle of wine, a main course, a dessert and A coffee.

Customers

The bill is higher, but the customers are there, assure the restaurateurs interviewed. “We see our regulars. Also, we have a new clientele, underlines Matthieu Perreault, of the Coup Monté. We have a lot of first times. The restaurant has become a luxury. People, when they come to the restaurant, come to treat themselves, so they are ready to pay. »

But if prices continue to rise, aren’t some consumers likely to resign themselves to eating at home? “It would be dishonest to say that we are not worried about the future,” says Richard Scofield. Yes, I’m worried. It’s obvious. If it costs more, fewer people will come to the restaurant, or they will change their choice of establishment,” he said, adding that the restaurant model will have to be reviewed.