But we cannot increase our prices, because people are already complaining that the prices are too high. If we don t give them better deals, they don t want to come in. This trend, as he calls it, has been in effect for a few months. All of this is just an extra expense in running a restaurant, he says. According to the National Restaurant Association, the average restaurant spends roughly 2 percent to 3 percent of its sales dollars on utility expenses.
Electricity is usually the biggest utility expense.
Restaurants outrank general-merchandise stores and automobile stores for the total amount spent on energy resources. As a result, even the slightest increase in prices can leave restaurateurs struggling to meet the bottom line. Restaurants use a lot of energy, says Don Fisher, president of Fisher-Nickel, Inc., which manages Pacific Gas and Electric s Food Service Technology Center in San Ramon, California. In January, he says, Californians saw gas prices increase 250 percent from the same time last year. Restaurant operators need to take a good look at their operations and institute energy-conservation programs when appropriate, says Steven Grover, National Restaurant Association vice president of health and safety regulatory affairs.