Inflation still rears its ugly head in Victoria along with sky-high commercial rental costs.
These are just two of the loads a restaurateur in Victoria bears in order to feed the masses of locals and tourists alike downtown.
With all the costs rising for these business owners and customers asking them why their burgers and other menu items cost what they do, Ferris’ Grill & Garden Patio took to social media in order to break down exactly what people are paying for when they buy a burger and fries.
“As business owners, we strive to create a place that can be enjoyed by the community,” said Ferris in a social media post.
“We have always tried to create good value for our guests, locals and tourists alike.”
The restaurant owners say they believe in paying their staff a fair wage with dental and health benefits, which is why the highest cost of every burger made is attributed to their staff. This is not money the owners make, but rather income they pass on to their hard working servers and cooks.
“We felt it was important to be transparent about our business and what the reality of restaurants is in this post Covid world.”
“Please continue to support local, and understand when your bill has a little sticker shock wherever you may be dining. The restaurant world thanks you.”
The comment section on the post is filled with support and commendation for the offer of transparency.
As there always is on social media, some people resorted to trolling the post, making accusations and questioning the logic of the breakdown.
One commenter asked why people are expected to tip if such a high portion of the breakdown was going to staff already to which an industry worker replied:
“Because $9.14 divided by all of the staff that it actually takes to get that burger from raw ingredients, through prep, production, service, clean up, is really not that much.”
“It may seem like a lot when you look at it as one burger, but in reality a restaurant is never prepping for one burger, likely closer to 100+ a day. So that $9.14 in wages is being split to pay the prep cooks, line cooks, dish washer, hosts, server, GM, chef, sous chefs, etc.”
“You tip because razor thin margins are why restaurants can’t pay cooks, and the higher prices are raised, the less likely customers will be to purchase anything.”
“Like the real cost of that burger should be closer to 30+ if you wanted to pay appropriately to the staff, but you’d never be willing to pay that.”
Luckily, the comments of support vastly outnumbered the trolls and many other Victoria restaurant’s accounts gave their thanks for braving social media’s sometimes ugly landscape including Greek N Go, Bunny’s Kitchen, Empire Donuts.
