When to Use Market Price on Your Restaurant Menu

Protecting Your Restaurant Food Cost

One of the biggest areas of concern in the restaurant business is food cost. It is ever changing. One week lettuce may be $10 a case and then the next week a drought in California causes it to jump to $50 a case. So how do you keep your food cost in line on your restaurant menu if the price of food jumps up and down? One way is through Market Price, where you routinely change the price of menu items according to the current market, which goes by supply and demand.

Market Price

Most commonly seen on fresh seafood or highly seasonal items like strawberries or raspberries, market price is listed where a regular menu price would be. It is also good for imported items, like caviar or truffles. When a dining patron sees the term Market Price, they will ask their server about how much the item is.

When it works on a restaurant menu
Market price protects your food cost. It allows you to charge what you need in order to make a profit. You can serve seasonal items all year round and know that your food costs are covered.

When it doesn’t work on a restaurant menu
Market Price is usually reserved for more expensive items. If more than a few items on your menu carry Market price instead of a set price, you risk alienating customers, who generally don’t want any surprises with their bill.

Instead try this with your restaurant menu
If lobster or strawberries are prohibitively expensive in your area in the off season, it is probably wise to leave them off the menu. Instead, special these items only when they are in season or when you food distributor is running a sale, rather than serving a $50 meal (or more) that most customers will not buy.