Some foods reflect the state of the economy. The Costco hot dog. The $1 pizza slice. A dozen eggs. Rumors of price hikes on these items don’t just track to rising ingredient costs; they signal broader sentiment shifts among companies and consumers.
In Philadelphia, the cheesesteak has long been that economic bellwether. As a city, our general mood is often defined by the state of our cheesesteak scene – how easy it is to get a decent one and how much it costs. These days, we’re all a little on edge. The cost of a cheesesteak is going up. It’s not unusual to see steaks at reputable neighborhood shops approaching the $15 or $20 mark (and that’s before the truffle wiz and wagyu). The media, and the city, have taken notice. As restaurants and food suppliers contemplate raising prices, Philadelphians are calling for transparency and key cost details.
We’ll start: At Philly’s Best Steak Company, we’ve had to raise prices. We supply beef and chicken to some of the city’s most iconic cheesesteak shops. The cost of beef is on the rise, driven by factors like declining herd sizes, tariffs and trade tensions, and strong demand. That impacts our business, despite every effort to absorb those costs and limit their impacts.
For most restaurant owners, raising prices is a last resort. Unlike supermarkets, which hike prices quietly, restaurants face instant scrutiny and risk losing loyal customers. Even small increases can mean costly menu changes, reworked promotions, and damage to hard-earned trust. When price hikes are unavoidable, the only way to keep diners coming back is with honest, heartfelt communication explaining that the change is about survival, not padding profits.
We’ve helped restaurants craft messages to help customers understand the rationale behind price increases. It comes down to transparency and open lines of communication. This transparency is important for a few reasons. We all need to eat, and we’re all budgeting to feed our families and keep our businesses running. Transparency gives everyone more information to make more informed decisions and plan for the future. We know the supply of beef isn’t magically going to increase overnight — and that intel helps our customers and shops plan and communicate with their customers.
What’s more, transparency keeps everybody honest. Food is communal, and cost increases can have ripple effects. A little bit of transparency goes a long way in ensuring we’re all doing our part to navigate price hikes in a way that works for everyone.
For better or worse, when it comes to cheesesteaks, there simply aren’t that many cost variables. It’s just a few ingredients. Outside of fixed costs and labor, it’s just meat, bread, cheese, and onions (maybe peppers, maybe tomato sauce – we’re not here to judge). With so few ingredients, quality matters. So does price. When costs go up, consumers can make better decisions when they know what’s behind the increase. Recognizing a restaurant isn’t compromising on quality or cutting corners elsewhere can help consumers stomach higher prices for the foods they know and love.
It doesn’t have to be a detailed cost analysis. Companies have more ways than ever to share information with customers. Philly’s own Middle Child is a good example of a company serving up some transparency on its own terms.
When egg prices surged earlier this year, the restaurant took to its social channels with a breakdown of prices, timing, and rationale. The comments were overwhelmingly positive. National brands offered similar transparency takes via social media about egg surcharges that, at the very least, identified the source of rising prices and made the amounts tangible.
No one likes paying more for goods and services. Most businesses don’t want to raise their prices. Sometimes, there’s simply no other alternative. If restaurants and suppliers can all commit to more transparency in how and why costs are increasing, we can help ease uncertainty and drive greater goodwill with customers and everyone who enjoys a good cheesesteak.
Zafeiris Akranis is President of Philly’s Best Steak Company.
The Citizen welcomes guest commentary from community members who represent that it is their own work and their own opinion based on true facts that they know firsthand.
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