Energy costs account for a third of your restaurant bill

One in five (20%) UK restaurants have had to raise meal prices to keep up with rising bills, and if costs continue to rise, 21% said they will not be able to pay bills on time, research by an energy comparison site has found.

Approximately a third (33%) of a diner’s restaurant bill goes towards paying the cost of energy in UK restaurants, according to new research from Uswitch for Business.

Figures were taken from an online poll of 100 restaurant decision makers in the UK, conducted between 2 and 7 February 2023.

Energy bills topped the long list of concerns (63%), trumping the cost of rent (30%), retaining customers (27%) and product inflation (26%).

One in three restaurateurs (30%) said their venue is operating at a lower capacity than the same time last year, with capacity at an average of 60%.

To mitigate these changes, some restaurants are being forced to cut down menus (16%), reduce portion sizes (13%) and introduce more energy-efficient dishes (14%).

One in five (20%) restaurants have had to raise prices to keep up with rising bills. And if costs continue on this trajectory, restaurateurs said they risk not being able to pay bills on time (21%), potentially need to downsize (19%) or make staff redundant (18%).

Three in 10 (30%) venues are now only running the dishwasher when it is full and some have resorted to closing their doors during quieter hours of the week (22%).

Businesses across the food and drinks sector are feeling the full weight of rising costs. As a potential solution and to stay afloat, some craft breweries are temporarily merging in order to survive the next few years of price hikes.

Following the lead from US breweries Bear Republic and Drake’s Brewing’s “new collaborative partnership”, other brewers that are looking for new ways to exist during tougher times can choose to reach out for likeminded breweries also looking to reduce costs. Read more on that here.