Mastodawn

Justin Derrick 5d ago

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

Emily Velasco Mar 16

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

Emily Velasco Mar 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.

Emily Velasco Mar 17

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

Shut up and go away

Kenneth Finnegan Mar 17

@MLE_online life is a poison and the alcohol dulls the pain.

Emily Velasco Mar 17

@kwf you're very wise as usual, kenneth

Kenneth Finnegan Mar 17

@MLE_online I'm a poison and the wisdom dulls the pain.

FurryBeta Mar 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)

Kilroy_Was_Here Mar 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.

FurryBeta Mar 17

@kilroy_was_here @MLE_online Ain’t saying that alcohol doesn’t have it’s drawbacks, it can be some nasty stuff, too

FurryBeta Mar 17

@kilroy_was_here @MLE_online Glad you were able to quit

Kilroy_Was_Here Mar 17

@FurryBeta @MLE_online

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

Kevin Santo Cappuccio Mar 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.)

FurryBeta Mar 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

Kevin Santo Cappuccio Mar 17

@FurryBeta @MLE_online This gives me an idea for increasing international demand for US dollars...

@MLE_online
Substitute oil and I’m on board …

@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.

Emily Velasco Mar 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

@MLE_online @ChuckMcManis

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

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@drdrowland @ChuckMcManis yes!

MacCruiskeen Mar 16

@ChuckMcManis @[email protected] that logic the price of a movei should be the same as it was 20 years ago.

@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.

Toughest Bastard on the Fedi Mar 17

@MLE_online
Is Naugles still a thing in Southern California?

Emily Velasco Mar 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

Toughest Bastard on the Fedi Mar 17

@MLE_online
They had the best burritos when I lived there.

Toughest Bastard on the Fedi Mar 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

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

John Wilson Mar 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!??!

Emily Velasco Mar 17

@crazybutable yeah it's nuts. I haven't had McDonald's in a couple years now

John Wilson Mar 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

John Wilson Mar 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

Emily Velasco Mar 17

@crazybutable that is way too much for one taco, especially from a taco truck. yeesh

Tom Anderson Mar 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.

Cyberlyra Mar 16

@MLE_online
they also don't bring up the fact that we are living thru a mental health crisis and massive numbers of young people are on medication that make drinking alcohol impossible.

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@cyberlyra I think a lot of people on those medications drink anyway ...

disorderlyf Mar 16

@MLE_online @cyberlyra tbf a lot of the people I know who do that had a drinking problem before they started the meds

KanaMauna Mar 17

@cyberlyra @MLE_online Most young people have crappy health insurance. Once they’re done paying for the medication there’s nothing left over from their alcohol anyway.

Mungen Cakes ✅Mar 16

@MLE_online I saw a toot earlier making fun of the trope that "people don't want to work anymore" with a job listing that required 5+ years of experience in a wide range of technical skills. For an entry level job.

liquidlamp Mar 17

@Mungencakes @MLE_online
Thats just standard disparagement when the working class ever stands up for itself though the ages:

#ValueCreation4All 6d ago

@liquidlamp @Mungencakes @MLE_online
Great work !!

@MLE_online if its a choice to not <do whatever>, then it follows that its also a choice to spend more money to <do whatever>.

This way there's no need to mention the pesky lil fact that there is less to go around for the 99%.

B's wild, wild world 🌱🐛🎼Mar 16

@MLE_online Exactly! I watched a special on Vegas that essentially stated that Vegas was no longer for the regular folks, they are catering to the affluent. It's like that everywhere. Don't got the dough, oh well, guess you can't go. It's ridiculous and also the same reason home ownership is unattainable for many. We need to tax the wealthy to pay their fair share. Or do like Aerosmith says, "Eat the Rich."

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@BsCreativeLife I wonder if there are enough wealthy people to keep vegas going without regular people also spending time there. Vegas is not Dubai and it's not Monaco.

B's wild, wild world 🌱🐛🎼Mar 16

@MLE_online doubtful, but the tickets, fees, Formula 1, and stakes at the tables are what they are placing their bets on holding Vegas afloat...

Joshua A.C. Newman Mar 16

@MLE_online
An eighth of weed costs like $12 and won’t destroy your liver or put you around people who want to get you get in a fist fight.

MsMerope Mar 16

@MLE_online
how about the fact that WAGES aren't keeping up with the cost of living??

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@MsMerope That's just the other side of the coin of everything costing too much

Mats Holberg 🇺🇦 🇵🇸Mar 16

@MLE_online This is a great point. I was at a non-fancy cocktail bar last week and wound up spending $25 with an automatic 20% tip (which I would have left anyhow) on a single, average drink.

TL:DR Even as someone who's used to pricey drinks at fancy restaurants, I've been startled at how expensive they're getting everywhere.

can everything be outside now?Mar 16

@MLE_online right? There was something I saw recently about like 60% of Americans can't afford a minimal quality of life, and since I think a big part of that is housing where people who moved in the last 10 years are more disadvantaged, and young people are generally in that category, that would contribute.
Also if you already have to live with like 5 friends, why go out to the bar instead of drinking at home together?

@MLE_online Some restaurants have started adding a “labor surcharge” to the check, often accompanied by a big explanation somewhere on the menu, which all comes across as a backhanded way to build animosity towards minimum wage hikes. Rent is also an escalating cost for restaurants but I’ve yet to see a one collect a landlord surcharge.

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@gneilyo Right? Rent for business spaces is crazy high in a lot of cities now, but you never hear them making a stink about that in public

@MLE_online @gneilyo I read that in Dallas rent includes some percentage of the restaurants take. That is completely insane to me. Like why should the rent increase because you're more successful? Restaurants should put that breakdown on the bill.

@Affekt @MLE_online That’s wild. And probably more prevalent than I realize

George B Mar 16

@gneilyo @MLE_online

One time i saw a place write some bullshit like "in order to keep prices low with the increased minimum wage we are adding a 10% labor surcharge to your bill" on their menu.

It was the last time I ate there

@gbargoud @MLE_online Right? They don't cry about increases in the price of steak or the gas bill, why this?

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@gneilyo @gbargoud They do complain about the price of meat, but only when it's in relation to something like California requiring cows to not be held in steel cages where they' can't turn around for 19 hours a day. They don't complain about the massive meatpacking corporations that are raising the price of meat

Landlord surcharge!

@gneilyo @MLE_online

Miia Mustang Mar 16

@MLE_online We literally have the same kind of reporting and business owners pinning the blame on everyone else.

Like "oh the city center is dying because you and those damn zoomers are too lazy to come and spend your money in our businesses"

like, what friggin money? And for what? A 10€ pint or a 20€ cocktail?

I'd rather stay home than go all the way there for drinks I can't really afford lol

Emily Velasco Mar 16

@miiamustang yea! who can afford that these days!

Lauralee Dukeshire HAS MOVED Mar 16

@MLE_online I'm guessing they also don't mention the significant percentage of people who now have long COVID (5-10% of population conservative estimate) of which one of the most common symptoms is alcohol intolerance.

@MLE_online It is quite strange to me that for the price of a restaurant dinner and a couple drinks I can buy a low end laptop.