New Braunfels | April 2023

COMBATING LOCAL RESTAURANTS

SPIKING FOOD COSTS

According to the consumer price index, which measures the average change over time in prices paid for consumer goods, the cost of food has increased by 9.5% since February 2022. The following shows the overall average increases in groceries and eating out at restaurants. Food at home average overall increase: +10.2% Cereals and baking products

+14.6%

Meats, poultry, sh and eggs

+6.8%

Dairy and related products

+12.3%

Economic volatility has lead to numerous struggles in the dining industry, including increased operating costs. Due to the higher cost of living caused by ination, restaurants have had trouble retaining sta.

Nonalcoholic beverages

+12.3%

Fruits and vegetables

+5.3%

scratch cuisine alongside a unique wine list. He recalls Garth Brooks playing at Gruene Hall shortly before the pandemic began, lling the streets of the historic town with thousands of people. With Gruene Hall closing tem- porarily, a lot of the foot trac had left the area. When the pandemic began, Wilkin- son said he did not try to sell hot food and began doing cooking demonstra- tions online called “Sauce with Ross,” in which customers could prepur- chase the ingredients of recipes from him and then cook alongside him through Facebook Live. He also sold take-and-bake meals for people to heat up and enjoy at home. “[COVID-19] was obviously a huge hit but then a very, very healthy rebound. I’m so delighted to see the way our restaurants were creative,” Hines said. “They rolled with the punches; they adapted, and visitors came back to New Braunfels.” Sky-high operating costs Like many local restaurants, The Downtowner has had to cut cus- tomer favorites o the menu due to the increased price of products, such as its crab cakes, which the business would have had to charge $30 for to make a prot. Niland has also had to

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Food away from home average overall increase: +8.4% Full-service meals and snacks +8% Limited-service meals +7.2% and snacks

Pandemic recovery In August 2018, veteran restaura- teur Collin Campion opened Texas Bistro. The restaurant serves mod- ern American cuisine with a South- west inuence. When the pandemic began, like many local business owners, Cam- pion had to get creative. He relied heavily on social media to promote Texas Bistro and began selling to-go family meals, which did not break even but allowed the restaurant to remain present in the community. Chad Niland has owned The Down- towner in New Braunfels since it opened in 2017 and was inspired to open his own restaurant after being a lifelong chef. He denes his restau- rant as a “classic boozy brunch place” that serves American cuisine. “The industry will never be the same,” Niland said. “Whatever hap- pened during COVID and post-COVID until now, the industry is completely dierent, and you have to adapt and achieve [and] overcome, or you’re not going to be here.” Ross Wilkinson opened The River House in Gruene in 2015 with the vision of creating a full-service restaurant that served ne Southern

SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

raise menu prices to reect increased product costs, which led to having a dierent clientele. “I love serving people good food, but we’ve got to get a cut of it,” Niland said. “It’s hard to explain to [cus- tomers] that this is the actual cost of what they’re eating, for us to produce it, the labor behind it, the building overhead, the insurance and property taxes, everything.”

One of the continuing trends that began during the pandemic is the increase in to-go orders. The price of to-go materials—such as disposable utensils, cups and boxes—increased signicantly, contributing to the cost of operating the restaurant. Other products that have risen to record prices include eggs, chicken, beef and seafood. Overhead costs for materials, such as cleaning supplies,

THE EVOLVING RESTAURANT SCENE The restaurant industry in New Braunfels has grown signicantly in the past 10 years and helps to stimulate the local economy. Those changes include:

12.55%

of all jobs in New Braunfels are in the Food & Beverage industry

85% market growth increase in the service industry over the past decade

gross regional product (market value) of the service industry in Comal County in 2022 $339M

SOURCES: GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COMMUNITY IMPACT

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