In today’s restaurant economy, it’s not uncommon to drop more than $100 on a steak dinner with appetizers, wine, tax and tip.
But one New York City-based restaurateur is trying to get as many customers into the door by offering “value-driven” prices – and recommending other restaurant owners and chefs do the same.
“People will come in for [just] appetizers, and that’s okay, too. And they’ll come in for a couple of glasses of wine and an appetizer or two, and that’s okay with us as well. We just want to drive traffic,” Chef David Burke said on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” Thursday.
“Driving traffic keeps our waiters being paid as well as our staff,” he added. “The key is to keep the volume up, and then we can figure out how to make money.”
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Burke, who’s more widely known for his “Iron Chef America” appearances, heads the flagship David Burke Tavern in Manhattan, as well as other modern-chic, steak-forward restaurants like Park Ave Kitchen, Red Salt Room, King Bar and multiple Red Horse locations.
High inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Price hikes are particularly devastating for lower-income Americans, because they tend to spend more of their already-stretched paycheck on necessities and therefore have less flexibility to save money.
The September consumer price index (CPI) from the Labor Department showed that food prices increased 0.4% on a monthly basis and were up 2.3% from a year ago.
“My company has buying power, so we’re able to buy dry-aged meat and a good sirloin and use a little bit smaller on a portion at a value-driven price,” Chef Burke explained. “And [bottomless] fries – fries are filling people up, we make them homemade and they’re delicious.”
“If we were to serve porterhouse and swinging tomahawks only, it would not be sustainable,” Burke continued. “What’s happening right now is when you go out, people forget that you’re paying almost 10% tax and 20% tip. So you’re adding 30% to everything that you buy.”
At many of his mainstay restaurants, the chef noted how their happy hour offerings can serve up a steak dinner anywhere from $25 to $40, and they’re still putting up “good deals” on more expensive cuts of steak.
“Some restaurants enjoy it in [the] $200 [range], so there’s a value still there. But those have dropped off in sales in recent weeks. And people are going for individual cuts of meat, lots of chicken and lots of fish being sold,” Burke pointed out.
“But for the masses, we’re trying to give somebody something that will come back once a week for it, as opposed to a celebration steak.”
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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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