独り言

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Today, I had lunch at a restaurant called Purple. It was a brunch menu item, which is a breakfast-lunch hybrid. This particular dish included a stew topped with a sunny-side-up egg and came with toast. The dish was priced at $26, plus $5 for coffee. I asked for extra toast, which was an additional $3, bringing the total to $34. After adding tax and a 20% tip, the total came to about $45. At an exchange rate of 155 yen to a dollar, that adds up to approximately 6,851 yen. It's hard to believe lunch could cost this much, but that’s the actual price.

 

Previously, this restaurant used to have lines outside on weekends, but today there were seats available. I think their sales must be significantly down. It seems that in America, as prices have risen, fewer people are eating out. In such times, including fast food chains like McDonald's, the restaurant industry is struggling quite a bit.

 

With the rise in the cost of ingredients, labor, and rent, the restaurant industry has been forced to raise prices, but this leads to decreased customer traffic and, ultimately, operating at a loss. However, not all restaurants are experiencing a decline in sales. Some restaurants are trying to keep prices down and increase the amount of food they offer, and these places were still seeing wait times of about an hour even for lunch today.

 

It’s not just restaurants. In any industry, if you do the same thing at the same price as others, attracting customers becomes impossible. Businesses need to seriously consider what makes them different, what they excel in, and what unique value they can offer.