Restaurant prices

Today I head about a man who came into a restaurant. He ordered his food for himself and 5 of his friends, he was paying. When it came time for the wine, he ordered and then complained. He did not complain about the taste, but of the price. He said he could buy the same $40 bottle of wine for the half the price at a local grocery store. He then said he would not pay the $40 for the wine, even though he drank it. He said he would, however, pay the price he said he saw at the store. He did end up paying for the wine at full price, even after he threatened to have the restaurant shut down and that he knew people at the local paper and blah, blah, blah.
Most people do not understand what goes into priceing for food and beverages at restaurants. They think that the reason the prices are so high is that we are trying to "scam" them out of their money. This is not the case. Price of stuff at restaurants depends on alot of things. First comes the actual price of all the ingredients or the price we paid for said product. When it comes to say a bottle of wine, it could be bought for $100 a case. At maybe 6 bottles of wine a case you are looking at about $16.66 per bottle. To mark this bottle up you need to remember the fact you need to buy another bottle to replace this one when it sells, plus you have to pay for employees. Most places have a set mark up depending on how large they are. The larger, more famous the place, let us say a franchise italian place, this $16 bottle of wine may go up to 32 or 34 a bottle. At a fancy, small place, this bottle may go for 40. This is because of the fact that corporate places with big backing boards of stock holders, have alot of money. They can afford to sell the wine at almost cost. Same with a store. They sell this bottle at a little above cost because people see it as cheap and will come in all the time and buy it because the have 40 cases in the back. A small place may have 6 bottles until they all run out, so they need to pay for the next case, plus the expenses of the place that the owner, who is not filthy rich, is paying out of his pocket.
With food it is more complicated. Everything from seasoning to sides to plate is figured in. Sure you can get a steak at the franchise steak shop for half the price, but it was probably cooked real fast because the 3 guys on the grill had to make it plus 15 others in a short amount of time and have it out to you in 15 or less. Also 9 times out of 10, it was not hand cut. It was sitting in a package with old blood. Food prices deal with how well the food is handled plus expenses. At a franchise place it is done fast by a line of 10 people. In a small place, maybe one guy touched your steak and sides, at the most 3. They also maybe did 40 orders all night, whereas the other place did close to 500.
I worked at a steak place for 3 years. Our best night was mothers day where we made almost $20,000. The place I work at now, we maybe do $5,000 or a busy Saturday night. If we did the steak house prices, we would have been shut down long ago because we would be flat broke.
Less people means better food because it was lovingly prepared, but higher prices because of the cost of the food versus the demand and the financial backing.
Restaurants are not like chain department stores. We will not match the price of another restaurant. We will not accept their coupons. We will not give you a discount because you are a father on father's day. We have to pay the bills just like everyone else. So remember that the next time you eat out at a small place. The food was prepared by skilled people who love to do their job, not by a staff of 25 ill trained teenagers who are looking to make a quick buck. Support your local restaurants before anyone else. We make the city that much more better.