Restaurant prices are still rising. Here’s how to afford dining out

Statistics Canada data shows that the prices for food purchased from restaurants increased by 5.1 per cent year over year in January, continuing a trend seen last year.

Inflation is continuing to bite Canada’s restaurant industry, as sales have dipped across the country and consumers are facing higher menu prices.

Data from Statistics Canada released Monday showed that the prices for food purchased from restaurants increased by 5.1 per cent year over year in January, continuing a trend seen last year.

Prices for alcohol beverages served in licensed establishments were also up by 5.3 per cent compared with the same time last year.

Meanwhile, overall seasonally adjusted restaurant sales dipped by 1.9 per cent to $7.9 billion in January, according to StatCan.

Full-service restaurants saw the steepest decline in sales, dropping 6.4 per cent annually, followed by special food services (-1.8 per cent) and drinking places (-0.5 per cent).

Only limited-service eating places reported higher sales in January, increasing by 2.4 per cent.

The head of Restaurants Canada, a national food service association with almost 30,000 members across the country, said the StatCan data is “pretty frightening” for an industry that is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic closures.

“We’re seeing the impact of our customers having a lot less discretionary spending due to inflationary pressures, and we have been feeling the inflationary pressures for some time now,” said Kelly Higginson, president and chief operating officer at Restaurants Canada, in an interview with Global News.