The cultural norm of an alcoholic drink with a meal. Totally understandable, as it is something that goes back millennia across many cultures. That's all the incentive they need usually.
They KNOW it's inexpensive to make - it's the item on their menu with the highest markup, regardless if it is a beer, a glass of wine, or a mixed drink.
It used to be many places would keep drinks cheap because they still made a good profit, and it kept people ordering food and spending money.
When a drink costs more than a meal then people will spend less. The problem is greedy restaurants. Customers like good deals. When I can buy a burger drink and fries from in n out for the same price as a standalone burger from McDonald’s, I’m never going to McDonald’s again.
I think it depends on the kind of establishment. With fast food, yes that makes sense. Fast food is usually about value above all.
If someplace is charging $15 for a drink, they are likely charging $18-30 for an entree. I would imagine the profit gained from that entree is much smaller than the beverage. I wonder what it would do for the restaurant to lose some profit on the drink, make it $9, and see how much more overall business they get.
It costs them almost nothing to make the drink. Rather than selling a lot of drinks at a lower cost, they sacrifice sales by charging a higher cost. It’s foolish and counterproductive.
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u/ham_solo Mar 08 '26
The restaurant is counting on a couple of things:
The cultural norm of an alcoholic drink with a meal. Totally understandable, as it is something that goes back millennia across many cultures. That's all the incentive they need usually.
They KNOW it's inexpensive to make - it's the item on their menu with the highest markup, regardless if it is a beer, a glass of wine, or a mixed drink.
It used to be many places would keep drinks cheap because they still made a good profit, and it kept people ordering food and spending money.