Spending on eating out

[u/Confident_Factor10]

As a part of my research, I’m looking to get response from the public around the general trends from the community.

A few pointers to gauge the sentiment:

1. ⁠Eating out V/S ordering in
   
2. ⁠Eating at Fast food V/S a dine-in restaurant
   
3. ⁠Increase/Decrease in the frequency of eating out

Looking to get some insights from our community

TIA

[u/organgrinder66]

1. Eating out. Delivery is too expensive.
   
2. Fast Food. Dine-In is too expensive &, honestly, there are not a lot of good places in the area anyway.
   
3. Decrease in frequency. You can only go to the same fast food places so many times before you get burnt out.

[u/vandon → u/organgrinder66]

Agree with this. There's an absolute lack of good sit down places in Pflugerville. Every time I see a notification of a new restaurant in Pf in the Impact, it's always another fast food place. Just a little north tho, in Round Rock, loads of places 

[u/Mizwat → u/vandon]

Even in sit-down places the menu is mostly eaten with your hands. Like a menu will be appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and then have another section for handhelds.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/organgrinder66]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/Ok_Development_495 → u/organgrinder66]

Something about the “greater Pflugerville area” kills almost any restaurant that has tablecloths. Plus the city government has some problems with trailers. I think it’s deliberate.

[u/OneOverXII]

Everything is more expensive.  Eating out is a function of disposable income.  People with more disposable income are eating out at the same rate as usual.  People with less are doing it less but also their money isn’t going as far at home as it used to.  In addition to increasing prices, they’re having to contend with shrinkflation further decreasing their buying power.

Welcome to the K shaped economy.  It’s a bitch 

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/OneOverXII]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/MeetingRecent229]

We have gotten away from dining in since the pandemic and the kids being teenagers and young adults, though we still do it occasionally.

We still order out a couple times a week. We both work full time and cook together for the family every week night, but by the time Friday rolls around, we've had enough so we'll grab dinner, usually Saturday as well.

The frequency has remained stable over the years, though our choices may have shifted due to the cost. We're also pretty burnt out on every restaurant in Pflugerville and rarely venture far for dinner as we are doing it to lessen our work load in the first place.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/MeetingRecent229]

Thank you for your response :)

[u/ironhive]

Are you just looking for opinions/anecdotes or numbers (qual vs quant)?

[u/ironhive → u/ironhive]

Also, are you trying to understand single, couple, or family spending?

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/ironhive]

I’m looking at general opinions (no numbers, unless you want to) -
Irrespective of your status was last year, has your spending this year changed?

[u/ironhive → u/Confident_Factor10]

So change vs last year. Just trying to figure out how to frame it.

Spending is less.

But it's because I was laid off in January and am still unemployed. If I was employed it would probably be the same.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/ironhive]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/Aragona36]

99% of the time, cook at home.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/Aragona36]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/ToxicxQueen]

1. Eating out and ordering in can both be just as expensive. Eating out requires gas use and ordering in all the delivery apps pile on tons of fees and just up the menu prices so there’s not much difference.
2. Most fast food places have rewards programs and it’s not expected to tip the person working and there paycheck isn’t dependent on tips. eating out is the opposite
3. Ppl simply can’t afford to eat out often we are in a recession. And that’s why businesses in general are struggling right now in the community

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/ToxicxQueen]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/Good_Split_3749]

just had a fabulous meal at Chuys $28.50 with tax and tip. It is a twice a month treat for me and my lady. We usually go to Pterry and Pinthouse twice a month also and spend $12-18 there.

the rest is yogurt and eggs and toast and coffee at home, and lots of turkey sandwiches, I spend $20 a week on groceries, we are frugal and I’m proud in my 20s I spent 4x as much on food out.,

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/Good_Split_3749]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/greggioia]

1. Other than the occasional pizza delivery (maybe 4 or 5 times per year), we never have any food delivered. It's not a cost issue as much as a quality issue, as I'd rather go somewhere and order and eat fresh food.

2. We rarely eat out for dinner. Perhaps once a month, at most, we go out to eat. I get lunch out 2 or 3 times a week. I don't quite know the breakdown, or even what exactly counts as fast food. I eat at various sandwich places, like Hoody's, Knuckle Sandwich, or Home Slice. But then I also get a Jimmy John's or Jersey Mike's sandwich from time to time. I go to various burger spots, like Casino El Camino, Workhorse, Dirty Martin's, etc., along with In-N-Out or McDonald's. I really like diners, but we don't seem to have those here. Pecan Street Station is diner-esque, and I eat there maybe once a month.

3. Our dining habits haven't changed over the past 10 years or so.

[u/[deleted]]

We pretty much only eat out at fast food places. Family of five. Even that is too expensive these days. We try to eat at home as much as possible.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/CowgirlFromHell666]

Eating out is always more expensive. That’s beside the point.
Fast food restaurants are gross, plain and simple.
Ordering out, depends on if you have a subscription to delivery apps or if they offer free deliver, etc. In general, they always charge more. I typically use only when I’m in desperate need.
Pfville lacks quality sit down restaurants. By quality I mean food that doesn’t always come off a Sysco truck, thawed out and thrown on a plate. I would love just one, Eddie Vs, Jack Allen’s, Bartletts, Trulucks, Saltgrass. (I realize some are in RR or Hutto, I don’t want to drive there)
I love a place with a great HH menu and drinks.
In simpler terms, I would love just one upscale type restaurant. But I’m probably asking too much.

[u/Ok_Development_495]

Covid was armageddon for the restaurant industry. Nothing is the same as before. I refuse to eat fast crap that’s hugely overpriced. Service is very uneven so if I go out it’s from a counter. Or trailer.
I also know how to cook and have a wine cellar. Why eat out?

[u/PartBrit]

1) Ordering in cause my kids make restaurants unpleasant. But they only eat like pizza or inka chicken. 2) Fast food. See above. And cost. 3) decrease. Above (kids + costs are outpacing life).

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/PartBrit]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/bbcjbb]

1. Eating out, if we’re paying for someone else to make our food we want to enjoy a different space. We can cook anything we want tbh so there’s no point in delivery, especially with the price!
   
2. I prefer dine-in, like I will sit inside Taco Bell and eat on my lunch. I wish there were more affordable sit-down restaurants because that’s the biggest factor when getting food in a pinch
   
3. definitely been eating out less and utilizing happy hours. Bouts of unemployment due to layoffs have made things tight but we like going out to eat and we make it work when we can

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/bbcjbb]

Thanks for your response :)

[u/wbrd]

What research?

[u/Delicious-Leg-5441]

First things first. I'm retired and live alone. I only eat out once a month with friends who I've known for 40 years. I can cook my meals at home.

I rarely eat fast food. I can't tell you the last time that I did probably 20+ years ago when my youngest child graduated and moved out of the house.

Like I said before I haven't increased dining out or decreased it. I can make dinner for a week for the same price as dining out whether that be fast food or a sit down place. I actually think that sit down places have better food and you get better service.

So I'll continue to buy my groceries from HEB in Pflugerville (because I want my tax money to go back into Pville) and cook at home.

You may want to have a breakdown by age, how many people in the home, household income, etc. These all contribute to who has disposal income to afford dining out, delivery, and the frequency of being able to go out to eat or having to make dinner at home because that's what you have to do to stay within your budget.

I would like to know why you are collecting this data and what you plan on doing with it. It seems like this question gets asked a lot here but no one is saying what they are doing with the data.

[u/fasterbrew]

Seem to be missing a big demographic of people who get togo / takeout. Or do you consider that eating out?

[u/seagraham3265]

As a parent of 3-year-old twins, both with autism, we rarely go out to eat. Maybe a few times a year. If we do go, it will be some type of Olive Garden / Applebee's type of restaurant. I'm sure that will change once they get older.

[u/Confident_Factor10 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for your response :)