LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Restaurants across the valley are feeling the pain as fewer and fewer people are dining out.
More people are thinking before heading out to eat at restaurants. For some spots like Tres Cazuelas near Spring Mountain and Interstate 15, it’s getting hard to stay open as costs rise.
Reyes said he does it for the love of food, but that can only go so far.
“There’s not enough revenue coming in,” he says.
He’s making drastic changes this year to stay open. The Latin cuisine restaurant is not open as long as it used to be and it’s also cutting employee benefits.
“I can no longer do as much as I did with them before,” owner Angelo Reyes said. “I used to give them health insurance, I used to give them bonuses [and] I used to take them out for dinner,” he says.
That’s all gone. Reyes blamed food prices, people not eating out as much and ordering habits.
He’s not wrong.
According to the Labor Department, prices at restaurants and other spots were up more than 5% last month compared to January 2023 and grocery costs increased over 1.2% during the same time.
“People tend to order small plates and take a glass of wine rather than a bottle of wine,” Reyes said.
In the west valley, it’s the same for Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar.
Owner Albert Scalleat told 8 News Now the dining scene will eventually change, but not right now. He said it’s never been as difficult to make money with a restaurant as it is right now.
People will always find a way to dine out.
But at what costs? Credit cards.
UNLV Professor of Economics Stephen Miller said to watch out — it all catches up.
“They’re not thinking as a finance person saying to themselves you shouldn’t really be doing that. If your income doesn’t support that level of spending you should maybe cut down on the times you go out to eat,” Miller said.
The common denominator: Things are getting more expensive. It’s all about the mindset people need to balance the joy of dining out while on a budget.
Miller said there is some good news compared to last year. Inflation has come down a lot. People just are not seeing it yet. The best way to identify is to look at the rise in workers’ wages which means real purchasing power has been going up.