Many independent restaurants say they’ve hit a pricing ceiling — even as sales and traffic stabilize, according to the James Beard Foundation’s annual industry report.
Why it matters: Survival tactics of the past few years — higher prices and delivery expansion — are losing effectiveness, leading operators to reset the math.
That rings true for Ohio restaurants, many of which are operating on increasingly thin margins.
- “We ask people to be thoughtful about their reactions to the prices they see in restaurants,” says John Barker, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance.
- “It’s not price gouging. They’re trying to survive.”
Between the lines: Restaurants that raised prices more than 10% in 2025 were most likely to report lower profits — down from a 15% threshold in last year’s report.
- “There’s just not a lot of elasticity left,” Anne McBride, VP of impact at the James Beard Foundation, the nonprofit behind the James Beard Awards, told Axios.
Zoom out: Even as pricing power weakens, most operators say business conditions improved in 2025. A majority reported good or excellent business performance and optimism about 2026…