Meal Assembly Watch

More to think about as those gas prices just keep on rising…

Today, a $13 blue-cheese burger is the lowest priced entrée. 

Restaurant operators may feel crunched in the margin between food prices, which are rising at a rate not seen since 1990, and the prices they charge customers. But Doug Brooks, chief executive of Dallas-based Brinker International Inc., and other industry executives warned Saturday that consumers short on cash today can have long memories.

“You want to make sure you don’t do something that changes the consumer’s perception of you long term,” said Mr. Brooks, whose company owns four chains including Chili’s Grill & Bar. “The cost side is putting pressure on us, but I wouldn’t want to erode” the goodwill with consumers the company has built up over 33 years, he told association members.

“The biggest risk is you focus so much on costs that you do things you’ll regret a few years later,” said Mr. Brooks.

Many companies have raised menu prices as the costs of everything from wheat flour to fuel rockets higher.

Restaurants grapple with higher food costs, diners’ need to pinch pennies

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• Fast food chains offering more food for less
• Farmers get higher prices for grain
• Biofuels don’t cause food crisis
• Casual-Dining Continues to Drop Prices
• Burger King Sold For $3.26 Billion To Private Investors
• As global food costs rise, are biofuels to blame?
• Expect food prices to keep rising, industry says
• Price Of Hershey Chocolate Going Up