> Eating out is expensive and should be expensive if you want businesses to sustain themselves when there’s turmoil in the industry.

Eating out shouldn't have to be more expensive than eating in. And in many countries it isn't.

Restaurants benefit from scale that your kitchen doesn't.

If you were feeding a family of 150, your per-meal price would crater.

Of course a restaurant has to pay staff, so the numbers have to add up, but conceptually, there's no particular reason why a chicken sandwich at a restaurant should cost more than a chicken sandwich at home, as long as that restaurant is serving chicken sandwiches, chicken tacos, and chicken pasta all afternoon/evening.

Granted during covid and shipping shortages all bets are off.

And obviously even during non-covid times, restaurants can set their own prices, charge a 100x multiple for exclusivity, ambiance, etc.

But fundamentally there's no obvious reason why getting food at a restaurant needs to cost more than getting food at home, while still making the restaurant a profit that lets them pay salaries and sustain their business.