Food Cost and Labor Inflation Strains Restaurant Margins
Richard Mott discussed the severe inflation impacting the restaurant industry, noting that starting cook pay is roughly 30% higher than three or four years ago and that food costs have skyrocketed.
personRichard Mott
The tape
1 quote
“Labor has gotten crazy. We pay about 30% more for starting cooks than we did three, four years ago. And food costs have just gone through the roof.”
Richard Mott
Heard on Odd Lots — “How a Chicago Restaurant Has Stayed Open For Nearly Three Decades”, published Saturday, October 24, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.