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Cost of living drives 3 in 4 Canadians to skip eating out, report shows (globalnews.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[–] 12 points 1 year ago (6 children)

You can do a lot with $3 in pasta at home.

But....

The era of restaurants replacing cooking was never sustainable and it's over. We're back to restaurants as very special events only and frankly, there are way too many restaurants.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    It doesn't make sense to me. With the economy of scale, eating out should be more sustainable than cooking at home, but somehow it isn't.

    My best guess is that it's an issue of everyone expecting variety and a kitchen that operates all day. If you make a huge batch of food and serve the same thing to everyone at the same time every day, that should be way cheaper than cooking at home.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Eating out at home prices gives zero value to labor or the overheads of the restaurant. This is why restaurants go broke and no bank will loan to a restaurant.

    This is all about real estate. Restaurants have to pay stupid lease rates and higher wages to workers who need to live in stupid rental rates.

    So now we pay $28 for a stupid burger.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    What you're describing is the kind of cafeteria I ate at as a university student. Limited hours of operation, your choice of three entrees cooked in advance and served from steam trays, plus some stuff that was either prepackaged or could be made while they were closed and set out for self-service. And it works okay in those kind of circumstances, where you've got a large semi-captive audience who need fuel. It isn't what most people are looking for in a nice evening out, though.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    It isn't what most people are looking for in a nice evening out, though.

    That's the thing, isn't it? With the exception of maybe once or twice a month, I'm not looking for a nice evening out. I just need fuel, and I need it three times per day. That's over 95% of my meals. I'm pretty sure the majority of people are in the same boat.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    We make a simple tuna at home casserole that makes 4 huge portions for under $20. We only eat out once every month or so. I find stuff is better and cheaper made at home with better ingredients.

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