When I travel to places with lower minimum wages, I do tend to find lower prices.*
Get yourself a breakfast omelette plate in San Francisco and the same order in Jackson, MS. I can pretty much guarantee that the plate in Jackson will be less, possibly 50% less.
* I don’t claim it’s caused by the minimum wage difference, but it seems pretty strongly correlated.
As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places...
For instance, I searched "Brunch" in Google Maps for Jackson and omelette plates are $10-16 at Google's top result[1].
Labor costs certainly impact prices, but restaurant pricing isn't totally formulaic outside of maybe "market price" fish dishes. Kenji Lopez Alt has written about this[2]:
Here's where one of the first intricacies in menu pricing arises: Menu prices have to make sense to the customer. Placing a $15 carrot entree and a $20 chicken dish next to a $40 mushroom dish and a $45 steak doesn't compute; the range is simply too big. Either the latter two dishes are far too expensive, or the first two are far too cheap. Which sceniaro seems true largely depends on the atmosphere of the restaurant and pricing at similar restaurants, but both cases can be disconcerting.
Because of this, most successful restaurant owners fudge the numbers a bit. "You're willing to lose money on some things because they're important to keep on the menu," says Maws.
> As a New Yorker, I have been surprised when I travel that food isn't cheaper many places...
Some of that may be on you, choosing to eat the expensive food.
My experience in Shanghai was that I could eat basically the same things I'd eat in America, and it would cost basically the same amount of money. Or I could eat local food for 5-10 times less than that.
But you know, if I go to 老外街 ("foreigner street") in Shanghai to eat at the Mexican restaurant there, it's not exactly a secret that I may be willing to pay more for food than a normal Chinese person. And they price accordingly.
I've noticed that Manhattan restaurant prices(other than pizza) are much higher than Chicago restaurant prices. Hard to find non-counter serve for less than $15 in manhattan. Chicago $10 is easy to find.
San Francisco is like Disneyland for the nouveau riche. Rents, wages, everything is insane because workers have to get shipped in. Your breakfast plate in Manhattan, where poor people are still allowed is pretty cheap.
You are expected to tip generously as without your tip money your waitress wont be able to eat as she is only paid 3.93 an hour plus tips.
In addition she is even more likely to make use of state services like food stamps and medicaid which in effect you and I help pay for even if we don't even live in that state let alone eat at that diner.
I don't think its cheaper its just subsidized by everyone.
Get yourself a breakfast omelette plate in San Francisco and the same order in Jackson, MS. I can pretty much guarantee that the plate in Jackson will be less, possibly 50% less.
* I don’t claim it’s caused by the minimum wage difference, but it seems pretty strongly correlated.