<story><title>Restaurant prices in the 19th and 20th centuries (2009)</title><url>https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/restaurant-prices/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>telesilla</author><text>&amp;gt;[1987] However, at a top restaurant such as Masa’s in San Francisco a fixed-price meal runs $48 (almost certainly excluding drinks and tip), while diners at Berkeley’s innovative Chez Panisse can expect to pay at least $45.&lt;p&gt;Gosh - I&amp;#x27;m pretty sure the last time I walked out of Chez Panisse it wasn&amp;#x27;t for less than $250 each (with wine).. inflation surely doesn&amp;#x27;t count for this?`</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>daggersandscars</author><text>There&amp;#x27;s multiple factors in play here. Inflation is one.&lt;p&gt;Population growth is another. The Bay-area population went up by ~2 million people between 1990 and 2020. Even if the income distribution remains the same, the number of potential diners who can afford an expensive meal goes up.&lt;p&gt;Income distribution is another. If the percentage of the population who could afford an expensive meal and would buy one goes up, the number of potential diners goes up even faster.&lt;p&gt;Perceived social impact of an expensive meal is another factor. If more people believe there is social benefit in buying to an expensive meal, the number of potential diners goes up. This could be due to a larger pool of expensive meal buyers trying to impress each other, better awareness of expensive restaurants by the general population, etc.&lt;p&gt;Edit: changed &amp;quot;going to an expensive meal&amp;quot; to &amp;quot;buying [...]&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>Restaurant prices in the 19th and 20th centuries (2009)</title><url>https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/restaurant-prices/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>telesilla</author><text>&amp;gt;[1987] However, at a top restaurant such as Masa’s in San Francisco a fixed-price meal runs $48 (almost certainly excluding drinks and tip), while diners at Berkeley’s innovative Chez Panisse can expect to pay at least $45.&lt;p&gt;Gosh - I&amp;#x27;m pretty sure the last time I walked out of Chez Panisse it wasn&amp;#x27;t for less than $250 each (with wine).. inflation surely doesn&amp;#x27;t count for this?`</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>vkou</author><text>Overall inflation doesn&amp;#x27;t account for it. A dollar today is worth ~40 cents back then.&lt;p&gt;Wage inflation for professionals living in San Francisco, however, does. A lot more people in SF are making ~$400,000&amp;#x2F;year, than were making ~$10,000&amp;#x2F;year, back then. Hence, the restaurant can charge ~4x, and still be fill its tables every night.</text></comment>