Aussie diners rage at café's $18 banana bread
A once affordable brekky option might now be off the menu for struggling Aussies.
The cost of dining out has been a contentious issue for some time now, with the price of everything from Vegemite toast to milkshakes reaching shocking new highs at Aussie eateries. Now, a Sydney café has diners seeing red over a serving of banana bread.
Although a menu board at the front of the café states that the popular breakfast item is served with marscapone and honey, the $18 price tag was too much for one passing foodie. "Surely $18 for takeaway banana bread is taking the piss now," he posted on Reddit alongside a photo of the menu.
Several others agreed that spending $18 on banana bread is "ridiculous" and a "waste of money", while many were just as appalled by other items on the menu, including $9 sourdough toast, a $19 bacon and egg roll, and avocado toast priced at $25. "The entire menu can go and get f**ked," responded one user.
Considering avocado prices have dropped to as low as 9c, several observers expressed disgust that a café would charge $25 "for half of one on a piece of bread", albeit with tomato, feta, basil and olive oil.
Café prices spark debate
However, as many raged at the café's "outrageous" menu and suggested boycotting such places to force price reductions, some argued that doing so would make no difference as there are plenty of customers who wouldn't flinch at the costs. "Ultimately $25 has nothing to do with the cost of the avo or toast and everything to do with how much people are willing to pay," wrote one local.
Others defended the venue, arguing that restaurant owners face skyrocketing rents and other costs that make it increasingly difficult for them to turn a profit. ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell previously confirmed to Yahoo News that this is indeed the case, explaining that businesses have been left with no other option than to lift prices due to a mix of factors within the hospitality sector "including the higher price of inputs like food, electricity and transport, as well as labour shortages, which have likely impacted productivity in the sector".
Ms Trimbell added that rising wages in the industry may also be adding to a spike in the cost of dining out, noting that as a result of these combined factors, the "price of restaurant meals rose 6.5 per cent year-on-year to the June quarter while the price of takeaway food rose 9.1 per cent over that time".
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