I have wondered how true this is:

1) Covid caused a huge reduction in business.

2) Businesses charged more per person to sustain themselves.

3) Post-Covid people are buying less due to the higher prices so its sticky.

My local Qdoba is so expensive I won't eat there any more, but a few people do. What would happen if they dropped prices significantly and advertised that to bring people back? I don't know... There are only so many person-meals in a day, so people are eating somewhere, are they staying home? Are grocery sales up?