Why Restaurants Are Empty and Overpriced in 2026
Eating out still isn’t worth it — and in 2026, it might be getting even worse. Get 10 Free Meals and your first box ship free with code MARISSAFM at https://bit.ly/4bpzF8e!
A few months ago, I talked about the decline of restaurants, and since then, prices are higher, quality is lower, and more people are choosing to stay home. From overpriced meals and bad service to frozen food and hygiene concerns, the dining experience hasn’t recovered. In this video, I break down why restaurants are still empty in 2026 — and how rising costs, corporate food systems like Sysco, and declining quality continue to push people away from eating out. If you’ve noticed your favorite restaurants don’t hit the same anymore… you’re not alone.
Watch my original video here: https://youtu.be/pT7nOPwzxvY
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This video isn’t meant to encourage negativity toward any creators featured in this video. Let’s keep all discussions respectful and in the comments.
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SOURCES
@jolly_jihane officially a cooker now #food #inflation #restaurant #money #expensive #losangeles
@torrie76 Fast food is too expensive!#fyp #foryoupage #freddyssteakburger #fastfoodlife
@radioartstudio After my five guys video started getting a lot of comments I had to do a follow up. My husband and I aren’t big fast food people, we prefer restaurants but sometimes we will pick up some burgers. We went to the The Habit Burger and paid $30 for two meals which was not bad but after tip and tax it was 35. At that point for $5 more dollars I could’ve gone to five guys and got a better burger. We’re going to the grocery store to buy stuff to make out own from now lol. I did not realize how many people were so passionate about burgers but I have been invested in the debate. There were some haters in the comments. At the end of the day I can afford the burger, that’s not the point. Service, quality and value to cost have to make sense. If I’m spending my money, I want it to feel worth it. This whole burger debate has been hilarious, though — I didn’t know y’all took this so seriously. Anyway, we’ll be in the kitchen making our own from now on. Stay tuned. #fastfoodreview #tinatime #contraversial #commentaryclub #roadto10k
@quinnbmcdonough I wasn’t expecting a 5 star meal, i just wasnt prepared to eat crunchy alfredo sauce. Don’t come for me. 🤡 #bucadibeppo #badfood #restaurantreview #gross #creatorsearchinsights
@barnesl01 @Hash Kitchen was a dissapointment!! No I don’t want a replacement because this should have never been served to any customer this way and I didn’t want to wait another 10 to 15 minutes. #restaurantreview #arizonafood #foodreview
@ninidadon
@tiesyn Insanely overpriced for no reason 😭 #restaurant #food #real #foryou #fyp #trending
@11alivenews A recent outing to Katch Kitchen and Bar in Tucker left local resident Dramaine Smith with more than just a full stomach – it left him questioning the transparency of dining establishments. According to Smith, an additional $20 was tacked onto his total bill for the evening, prompting him to seek clarification from the restaurant staff. In response to inquiries from 11Alive, a spokesperson for Katch explained that a $10 charge per person is customary when live performers are featured at the establishment, intended to defray associated costs. This practice, the spokesperson emphasized, is becoming increasingly common as restaurants grapple with rising operational expenses. Click the link in the bio for the full story. #11Alive #11AliveNews #GeorgiaNews #Georgia #AtlantaNews
@keshee28 Check your bill when you go to restaurants. They have all kind of hidden charges!👀 #fy#restaurant#koreanbbq
@sylvia_marzy little inside tea on restaurants for you germaphobes 😃 #fyp
@sneek._.kiki I swear every time I go out I see some nasty shit 💩 #restaurant #outdoors #fyp #serverlife #disgusting
@chefsolomonince Replying to @regular|exorcise #michelin #industry #boh #chef #linecook
@lotte_w0rld Why have restaurants become so meh (and feel like a ripoff)? It can’t be just me. #goingout #affordability #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp
@soleythesinger
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27 Comments
Get 10 Free Meals and your first box ship free with code MARISSAFM at https://bit.ly/4bpzF8e! I made a video about this a few months ago and honestly… it’s gotten worse. Are restaurants in your area still this bad or is it just me?
Burrito at Taco Bell can cost like $8😭 that’s insane. I just want some cheap slop not expensive slop
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Wherever this is happening in the US, I can tell you it isn't happening in Connecticut, because I work at Chili's and we are Slammed on Friday and Saturday night.
My local sandwich shop recently increased their prices again…i thought $12 was alot for a chef salad, went up to $14.50…wild
Cafes and coffee shops is something I really used to enjoy……but shrinkflation and. $8 for coffee then looking at me for a TIP
I went to McDonalds for the first time in years and ordered a hamburger the hamburger was sooooo much freaking smaller than it was when I last went it was comical 😮😮😮😮😮
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I will point out, with the gloves debate: it is consistently shown to be cleaner to wash your hands regularly than to wear gloves. However, you know these restaurants dont allow that neither. European restaurants dont wear gloves often for example
Thanks for reminding me why I always cook at home and never go out.
Mi goreng lifestyle catching on finally
Stop buying fast food. Make the companies crumble for price gouging us
It is crazy that basically everything about eating in is better than eating out now in the US…. like its not even more convenient
It's not just restaurants, too. We've reached the point where capitalism has moved away from customer-focus into the death spiral where they try to extract as much from us as possible until the entire system collapses.
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Mandatory tips are illegal, it’s called a junk fee and you can ask them to take it off
As someone who from the UK, tipping in the USA comes across as absolutely ridiculous to me. Employers should be paying their workers a proper wage, not relying on tipping.
almost all food is GROSS now regardless IMO..
19:02 Those places need to be visited by a health inspector. You have those in America?
19:34 Studies shown gloves are more unsanitary than barehands. People get a false sense of clean when wearing gloves and don't regularly switch. With barehands people are more likely to wash because they feel their hands are are dirty. This has also been my experience when I worked in food not just reading.
Again and again I'm astounded by American tipping culture 😅 you guys have been so brainwashed and indoctrinated by the whole tipping is mandatory, it's an insult if you don't do it, you shouldn't go out if you can't afford tipping, you're stealing money from their wages, you're a BAD person if you don't tip thing…
DUDE, you are so misplacing your anger. Servers' wages should come out of their employers' pockets, not patrons'. Tipping should really be for when the service is great, on top of a good wage paid by the employer. I say this as someone who used to be a server.
On the bare hands debate🤦♀️ you do realize that people can scratch their ass, pick their nose, and touch dirty stuff and then touch your food just as easily with gloves on, right? It's about how staff is trained and supervised, not about wearing gloves or not. And wearing gloves is dangerous around hot tools, and makes the job so much more difficult when dealing with detailed work like cutting onions or modelling sugar paste into a figurine. If there are regular health checkups of the employees by the health department, frequently washing hands is more than enough.
But on the topic of the food industry – you should really either choose blissful ignorance of what goes on in the food industry, or simply don't eat out/order in. Things are not going to be done the way you would do them in your own kitchen all the time, hygiene-wise, even in Michelin-starred restaurants, I assure you.
I live near(ish) a ton of good restaurants. My eyes almost fell out when I saw there's a Michelin star restaurant fifteen minutes away from me. It didn't take me long to figure out why. I moved into ski country. Or more accurately a small town near the ski hills. After driving around daily I eventually started to notice all the mansions that surround my town. Dystopia much? Btw all the restaurants within town limits suck.
Ok the restaurant hygiene is a real issue though. Fast food usually has better sanitary practices than low/mid range restaurants.
Depending on the area you live, you probably have cockroaches, rats, or flies. People who wear gloves will touch their e-coli covered phones with them then go back to making your food. People who don’t wear gloves do the same thing.
Servers will touch food on your plate with their bare hands if they’re nasty and I’ve seen it. Sometimes the plate is dirty and you don’t see it because there’s food on it. People will make your drinks and garnish them with bare hands that just scratched their balls.
I rarely eat at restaurants due to working in food service for so long. You see some really unsavory things. There’s not really a microwave problem that I’ve seen, food is usually made at least every couple of days and just reheated in the oven, but it’s just as easy and half the price to make it at home.
Using hands to cook instead of gloves is actually better, people wash their hands more when using bare hands compared to switching gloves.
hands? do they wash their hands? because yah, changing gloves per action is stupid
I see restaurants are causing their own downfalls. Wild.
I think it;s extremely sad that most of us warned you all what was about to happen but you flat out ignored us and supported the minimum wage increases. Now the cost has been forwarded to us. Thank god I don’t eat out at these fast food places like I used to.