Who hasn't stopped by Chipotle (CMG) for lunch? Or got a gyro so large that it tides you over until dinner?
These relatively inexpensive lunch options have tided over students and young professionals for generations.
But with inflation and food prices in particular hitting new heights this spring, even formerly inexpensive lunch options are becoming a whole lot less cheap.
That Gyro And Souvlaki Plate Are Not That Cheap Anymore
With both beef and chicken prices in the United States rising by more than 9% between 2020 and 2021, the Greek and halal restaurants that serve meat-filled wraps and giant platters of rice and meat are already feeling the crunch.
Many have raised prices by a few dollars but are hitting a situation in which they have to choose between not recouping the costs or having a price that is so high they lose customers.
"It is really hurting our business, because we can't keep catching up with buying them, and we're selling for the same price, we have no choice," Zolmay Rasuli, owner of Halal Gyro Express in San Francisco, told NBC.
"I mean, who's gonna come in and buy a 30-dollar plate?"
The situation is even worse in Greece, which is in the midst of a 28-year inflation high of 10% and seeing higher prices on everything from meat to vegetables and sunflower oil.
The country's signature dish of grilled meat in a flatbread rose by 30% to 3.30 euros this year and, as Reuters reported, many restaurateurs are losing many locals and customers who only came because of the low prices.
Chipotle, McDonald's Are Also Raising Prices
One public company that recently saw a significant hike in prices is Chipotle.
Analysts at KeyBanc estimate that the fast casual chain has raised prices at around 760 of its 2,997 stores primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and the New York City metropolitan area in 2022.
The price of the steak and barbacoa entree in those 760 locations went up by 6.2% from November 2020 while steak and carnitas rose by 5.6%.
At a February earnings call, Chief Financial Officer John R. Hartung said that "inflation on beef and freight and, to a lesser extent, avocado costs more than offset the leverage from our menu price increases."
McDonald's (MCD) also raised prices by approximately 6% in order to deal with the rising costs of both food, labor and the supplies needed to make it.
"[The hikes are necessary] to deal with the 4% commodity price increases or food and paper increases, as well as labor inflation and the competitive environment," McDonald's CFO Kevin Ozan said during a Q4 earnings call.
But Bacon Is The Biggest Price Hike Of All
But perhaps the most notorious price hike has taken place for those who like bacon on their sandwich or sprinkled over a soup or salad.
While food prices rose by an average of 0.9% between March and April 2022, the crunchy pork product now commands more than $7 per pound across the country.
That is an increase of nearly 24% since 2020.
A dozen eggs now cost around 15% more than a year ago both out of regular inflation and a number of animal flu outbreaks that have caused some facilities to stop production.
All these things together are inevitably trickling down into menu prices at the popular chains many choose for lunch.
That is a trend that, unfortunately, is not likely to stop any time soon.
"In recent years, most fast-food restaurants had, maybe, raised prices in the low single digits each year," industry analyst Matthew Goodman told The New York Times.
"What we've seen over the last six-plus months are restaurants being aggressive in pushing through prices."
