Emily VelascoMar 16

I keep seeing articles like this, about how people choosing to drink less is hurting bars and restaurants, and it's almost always framed as people, especially younger generations, don't like to drink.

They never seem to bring up the fact that a cocktail is like $20 now unless you go to a really divey dive bar. It's the same kind of reporting they on how no one goes to the movies anymore. It's always about changing habits, and never that movie tickets just cost a lot now.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/dining/us-alcohol-restaurants.html

Dinner and No Drinks: Restaurants Are Struggling as Americans Drink Less

Traditionally a reliable revenue stream for restaurants, alcoholic drinks are down markedly — and the bottom line is, too.

The New York Times
Show threadEmily Velasco
There are limits, and if I can buy two bottles of vodka from the grocery store for the price of a single cocktail, I'm going to opt to not have that cocktail most of the time
Mar 16 at 9:33pmWeb
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 16
There's a burrito place near me that I really like, that I've been eating at for years. I used to go once a week or so, but since the pandemic, the price of a burrito went from $5 to $11, and that's just too much! I eat there once every few months now. It doesn't mean I don't like burritos though.
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 17

"Alcohol is a poison. It's good that alcohol is too expensive now."

Shut up and go away

Show threadKenneth FinneganMar 17
@MLE_online life is a poison and the alcohol dulls the pain.
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 17
@kwf you're very wise as usual, kenneth
Show threadKenneth FinneganMar 17
@MLE_online I'm a poison and the wisdom dulls the pain.
Show threadFurryBetaMar 17
@MLE_online I *almost* feel that way about cigarettes (I smoked for 20 years). I still get the craving and urge for one now and again, but at $15+ a pack, I’m too cheap to buy one (not to mention it would start me back smoking again)
Show threadKilroy_Was_HereMar 17

@FurryBeta @MLE_online

I smoke quite a bit (a pipe, not cigs) but before I quit booze I used to drink whole fifths of 100 proof vodka in a single sitting so for me smoking is an upgrade. No puke, no headache, no blackout, no dizziness, no shouting matches I can't remember.

Show threadFurryBetaMar 17
@kilroy_was_here @MLE_online Ain’t saying that alcohol doesn’t have it’s drawbacks, it can be some nasty stuff, too
Show threadFurryBetaMar 17
@kilroy_was_here @MLE_online Glad you were able to quit
Show threadKilroy_Was_HereMar 17

@FurryBeta @MLE_online

Best thing I ever did. And the 3-day hangovers helped me out lol.

Show threadKevin Santo CappuccioMar 17

@FurryBeta @MLE_online I love that being able to afford to smoke cigarettes is slowly becoming a flagrant show of wealth.

I imagine some silly future scene where some dude rolls up in a Bentley and another person in a leather jacket's like, "oh yeah?" and then casually lights a cigarette (that costs the same as that car.)

Show threadFurryBetaMar 17
@ArchiteuthisFlux @MLE_online It’s pretty much the same as lighting cash on fire anymore. Not quite as flamboyant as lighting a cigar off of a C bill, but getting there
Show threadKevin Santo CappuccioMar 17
@FurryBeta @MLE_online This gives me an idea for increasing international demand for US dollars...
Show threadbkMar 17
@MLE_online
Substitute oil and I’m on board …
Show threadChuckMar 16
@MLE_online I heard an economist lecture where he expressed the "correct" price for a Movie ticket was 'one hour of minimum wage' Basically that was the optimum amount of 'work' someone would do to go to the movies regularly.
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 16
@ChuckMcManis if someone told me they would give me a movie ticket if i worked for an hour, i would tell them to fuck off. that's too much work to watch a movie
Show threadDavidMar 16

@MLE_online @ChuckMcManis

i agree. i'd work 15 minutes to get four movie tickets, though

Show threadEmily VelascoMar 16
@drdrowland @ChuckMcManis yes!
Show threadMacCruiskeenMar 16
@ChuckMcManis @[email protected] that logic the price of a movei should be the same as it was 20 years ago.
Show threadChuckMar 16
@maccruiskeen Or minimum wage should now be $25. But the point the economist makes is that the perception of prosperity is fundamentally related to the amount of work needed to participate. How many hours for a car, how many hours to pay for rent, Etc.
Show threadToughest Bastard on the FediMar 17
@MLE_online
Is Naugles still a thing in Southern California?
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 17
@TTFKA_Tay0 I don't think so, I believe I've heard of that as like an old timey del taco competitor, but I've never seen one
Show threadToughest Bastard on the FediMar 17
@MLE_online
They had the best burritos when I lived there.
Show threadToughest Bastard on the FediMar 17

@MLE_online
Now I know why you associated them with Del Taco. They're gone but sort of revived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naugles

Naugles - Wikipedia

Show threadKirkMar 17
@MLE_online Same. I don't think one old-fashioned should cost more than a bottle of bourbon.
Show threadJohn WilsonMar 17

@MLE_online at some point I realized it was cheaper for me to buy ingredients at Aldi and teach myself how to cook my favorite dishes than it is to go out to eat at a restaurant - same energy.

It’s always been cheaper, I know that, but it’s rarely worth it at this point, at least for the whole family. 70 bucks to take everyone to McDonald’s!??!

Show threadEmily VelascoMar 17
@crazybutable yeah it's nuts. I haven't had McDonald's in a couple years now
Show threadJohn WilsonMar 17

@MLE_online the sausage and cheese McMuffin is the only deal remaining (at least here in Minneapolis) at 2.49, buy one get one for a dollar. So nearly 4 bucks after taxes. Filling and tasty. Nothing is worth it after breakfast is over though.

Wendy’s has the sausage breakfast burrito, which is 2012 levels of huge for only 4.99. And the Dave’s double, just the burger for 6 and change.

Burger King is either one whopper (6 and a bit) or two whopper jrs (5.00).

Taco Bell can go fuck themselves

Show threadJohn WilsonMar 17
@MLE_online The actual taco truck by my work is amazing, but 3.75 for one taco. So I get three and cry, and I don’t know if I am crying from how good it is, the price (remember when these were a dollar each?), or how spicy the salsa is
Show threadEmily VelascoMar 17
@crazybutable that is way too much for one taco, especially from a taco truck. yeesh
Show threadTom AndersonMar 17
@MLE_online sugar is retail $8.00 for 20 lb, which ferments to 3.5 gallons of vodka. If the energy source is retail propane, the cost to triple distill 3.5 gallons is about $10. So, grocery store vodka is inherently worth about $1/fifth, federal tax on it is $2.70, California state tax is another $0.66. So even for the cheap stuff, price is dominated by packaging and distribution.