Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-18
CAFE MANAGERS CAN'T
SEE ANY PROSPERITY;
FOOD COSTS TOO MUCH
With Prices Going Up as They
Have Been. Situation Looks
Bad, One of Them
Says
GLAD NOT TO SELL MEAT

There's not a hotel IN Philadelphia that
cares whether Il sells single pound Of
mcht In its restaurant" said q. II. Horner.
manager OF the dining room of Green's
Hotel. today. with the prices OF all food
stuffs going up by leaps and bounds, as in
the last few months, our margin Of profit
upon our restaurant as a whole has been
cut right In two-it IL now one.half at most
OF what Il was. And OF this half not a cent
r. contributed by any Of the meat dishes
upon our menu.
-It's all very we'll" he went on. "for the
high-priced houses TO claim that they have
Increased their prices upon their bills OF fare
but little. They don't need to, for before the
present multiplication Of wholesale costs
their prices were 30 high that after alls
said and done they can still put away fair
profit But with popular-priced house,
whose menu charges based upon the
actual costs Of food and service. IFS a diff
ferent thing altogether. Right new we are
only holding on by our eye teeth to our
present scale OF prices even after raising
them, In the hope that this abnormal condi-
tion of things will not last and that the
wholesale costs Of ish. vegetables fruits.
and especially meats, will return TO a rea-
sonable level. II that reaction does not
speedily come. a further and uniform ad-
vance in prices by all hotels is inevitable" !"
IT'S BEEF THAT cosTsi
with such a further advance in prospect
what is the past advance that has been
NADER In many Items only a few cents:
ten cents in hors d'oeuvres, FIVE to ten
cents in oysters and clans. relishes, soups,
eggs and omelets, cold dishes and cheese.
Even I'm some varieties OF meat. the en-
forced boost In price Is still within the
limits OF the average comprehension and
purse: ten cents on lamb chops, mutton
chops, veal outlets and the like.
But ask for beef-and OF II but the plain
est--and up fly the prices TO height that
makes one really wonder whether he has
the right to live at all You ask for an ex-
ira sirloln steak plain. and 1t costs you
81 instead of the s1.20 It would have cost a
few months ago with mushrooms, S2.50 in
stead of $3.50: planked, garnished, SO In
stead OF 81. You ask for an extra bone sir
ioin, plain, and II costs you 81. so instead of
3l.70; hlet chateaubriand. plain, So instead
OF St2o; with mushrooms, s2.75 instead Of
$3.50; and extra porterhouse, plain, SO in
stead Of 81.
The net result of IL all is that where
from year to a few months ago you could
have feasted upon a dinner consisting of
oyster cocktail, green turtle soup. an extra
sirloin steak with mushrooms, lobster salad
and cantaloupe-all for the sum of $3.10-
that same dinner today would cost you
forty-seven per cent more-the amazing to-
tai of s4.55. And yet the margin OF profit
on such a dinner to a restaurant would be
less than the margin of profit on a similar
dinner at the relatively inexpensive scale
of prices that obtained one year ago, or in
many cases only few months ago.
COMPARISONS IN PRICES
Here are few of the items of especial
popularity In which the change in prices
d. rad