California Diners Cut Back as Costs Climb, and Happy Hour Is Now Nearly 30% of One Chef's Business
A San Diego restaurant operator says customers are eating out less often and treating discounted bar menus as the whole meal.
When prices rise, people still go out. They just spend less when they do.
Chef Alex Carballo of Grand Restaurant Group in San Diego told Fox News Digital that happy hour used to account for an estimated 5% to 8% of his business. It is now close to 30%. "My happy hour has increased a lot, so I think people are looking for deals and looking for options," he said.
Customers are also coming in less. Carballo says some who used to visit four or five times a week now come three times, and those who came three times now come once. What used to be a drink and an appetizer before dinner is increasingly the dinner itself.
That is hard on operators. "I'm still paying the same amount for food. I'm still paying the employees. My rent didn't change," he said. "Only thing I'm doing is trying to discount my product to gain people to come here."
Fox ties the shift to California's cost of living. Citing 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis data, it says California has the highest overall price levels in the nation, about 11% above the national average. It also cites the California Association of Realtors: just 19% of California households could afford the state's median-priced home of $916,750 in the second quarter of 2026. Fox notes the pressure is not limited to California.
Residents Fox spoke with described the squeeze in their own words. A Santa Monica man planning a wedding said he spends about $100 a week on groceries, is "eating out a little bit less" and has started walking to work to save on gas. A Glendora native who moved to Las Vegas seven years ago said "affordability is crazy" and that 90% of his friends back home live with a roommate. A Venice resident said her local co-op's prices are up "at least 15%."
These are anecdotes from a handful of people and one restaurateur, not a survey. But they line up with the broader numbers. The September inflation report showed gasoline up 34.2% over the past year, and Fox's own poll found cost of living is voters' top economic worry. Pump prices and rent are what people feel first.