The cost of everything is hitting an all-time high, whether it’s housing, vehicles, or food.
In some cases, the sticker shock of products and services is so obscene that it just has to be shared.
And a Nevada man was left in shock after he discovered the price of this popular fast-food item.
Man charged $39 for menu item at California Chipotle
An X user named Mike Alfred said he went to California recently to attend a Nuggets game.
While he was there, the Nevada resident decided to stop at the popular Mexican fast-food restaurant, Chipotle.
When he arrived, he got the shock of his life and decided to post about it on social media.
The X user wrote, “The same double steak bowl I get for $17 in Nevada is now $39 in California. The new minimum wage law is insane. Not even the rich will be able to afford to eat out anymore. Thank you, Gavin Newsom!”
According to recent data, the cost of “food away from home” like fast food or restaurant meals has risen at least 0.3 percent for 34 out of the last 36 months.
While that figure applies to food nationwide, the higher state minimum wage law in California that went into effect April 1 is causing fast-food chains there to raise their prices even higher.
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article entitled, “California Fast-Food Chains Are Now Serving Sticker Shock,” and Mr. Alfred’s account is proof that it’s true.
Once California required large fast-food chains to hike their minimum hourly pay to $20, most restaurants including fast-food and fast-casual restaurants have raised prices by approximately 10% overall.
This rise is widely outpacing other states according to an analysis of thousands of restaurants across a total of 70 large chains.
Popular hotspots like Domino’s, Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and others have increased prices since September.
In an investor call, Chipotle said that the prices at its nearly 500 California restaurants rose between 6% and 7%.
That price rise occurred during the first week of April, resulting in a massive hike when compared to the same time last year.
California is making things tough for businesses
During a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Chipotle Chief Executive Brian Niccol said, “The state isn’t making it easy,” referring to California’s recent minimum wage hike.
And the X user who wrote about his encounter at the chain isn’t the only one who has experienced fast-food sticker shock.
Seth Amitin, a 39-year-old therapist, told the outlet that the typical meal he gets each week at the Chick-fil-A in Hollywood used to cost him $16, but now it costs him $20.
A spicy chicken sandwich at that same location was $6.29 and has now increased to $7.09 – a 13% hike since February.
Statewide, Chick-fil-A’s prices have increased approximately 10.6% on average during that time period.
Before the minimum wage increase, the prices at California restaurants already had some of the highest fast-food prices in the country.
According to market research firm Datassential, California fast-food and fast-casual restaurants have raised prices over a greater percentage of their menus compared with the rest of the country every month since October.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
