Am I taking crazy pills or have sandwiches/wraps/paninis/etc. practically doubled in price in just a few years?

[Hubbs]

That's right. Forget your discussions of mere trifles like gun control or the fiscal cliff. It's time to discuss something of real importance. It's time to talk sandwiches.

Maybe I just have the world's worst memory, but it seems to me that less than a decade ago, you could go into your average deli/cafe/coffee shop type of place and get a reasonable sandwich-type item of pretty good quality for under five dollars. I'm not talking about fast food (including Subway), but I'm not talking about sliced filet mignon topped with caviar, either. I'm also not talking about something the size of your head. I'm saying that you could get something like a "Santa Fe chicken wrap" at a deli that's just like 100,000 other delis in the country for a price like $3.99 a few years ago, and now you're lucky if it's $5.49. Usually that's not even as part of some cockamamie "meal" that comes with bad fries you don't want and a soda that's mostly ice.

Am I the only one who's noticed this specific sandwich-related inflation? I'm not even talking about food inflation in general, even though that's been high itself. Sandwich-type items have blown by broader food prices. And I would guess that this is more specific to big cities and their suburbs than, say, Topeka. But the era of sandwiches costing $7, $8, $9 as a matter of routine seems like it came out of nowhere. Do you agree?

[Major Harris]

Jersey mikes regular no. 9 is over 7 bucks and worth every ****ing penny.

[PleaseBlitz]

I thought it was specific to chains. I stopped going to Panera after their sandwiches went from a reasonable amount of meat to 2 oz's of meat and the price stayed the same.

[SteveFromYellowstone]

Everything has increased in cost. College tuition has doubled since 2000. Healthcare costs have gone up 52% in the same period. Greed is going to destroy this country and create permanent classes of haves and have-nots

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Everything has increased in cost. College tuition has doubled since 2000. Healthcare costs have gone up 52% in the same period. Greed is going to destroy this country and create permanent classes of haves and have-nots

I hope I'm a "have" when it all shakes out!

[China]

Am I the only one who's noticed this specific sandwich-related inflation? I'm not even talking about food inflation in general, even though that's been high itself. Sandwich-type items have blown by broader food prices. And I would guess that this is more specific to big cities and their suburbs than, say, Topeka. But the era of sandwiches costing $7, $8, $9 as a matter of routine seems like it came out of nowhere. Do you agree?

There has definitely been some noticeable inflation in sandwich prices. But I don't think it's a recent thing. It seems to me it's been a long time since I could find a decent sandwich for less tan $5 (more than 10 years), but the jump from $7 sandwiches to $9 sandwiches is more recent. That being said whenever a particular woman at work complains about a restaurants sandwich prices and not being able to get one for $5, I just laugh to myself and think sandwich prices haven't been that low for a long time (at least for a decent sandwich).

Oh, and I'd much rather a place raise their prices than charge me the same amount but then give me less, makes me feel like I'm being gypped.

[elkabong82]

They have, and the solutions i grocery store and bring in your own sandwich. Screw the mark-ups. Restaurants are like retail stores, they have ridiculous mark-ups. A sandwich is a quick, easy lunch so the demand is high especially in areas with a lot of business around, so they know they can get away with the mark ups.

[PleaseBlitz]

Agree with bong. Best sandwich IMO for the value is good old homemade tuna salad with tomato on wheat. $3 and takes the same amount of time as standing in line at subway at lunchtime.

[zoony]

Remember when McDonald's did 29 cent cheeseburgers? Seems like that wa 10-12 years ago

Also I think a lot of chain restaurant prices have move recently because of the dominance and now monopoly by Sysco Systems

[Forehead]

Remember when McDonald's did 29 cent cheeseburgers? Seems like that wa 10-12 years ago

That was an occasional deal, not the everyday price. They'd sometimes offer .19 cent hamburgers and .29 cent cheesburgers. Back in high school, me and a few friends would go buy 20 of them for 5 bucks or so and plow through them all.

[HogNose]

My boss gave us all $10 gift cards to Subway.

I walk in and get a foot long BMT and a drink and I walk out with $1.80 left on the card. Yeah prices have gone up everywhere.....glad I don't eat like that all the time.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Welcome to what the rest of the Western World pays.

Glad yers could finally join us

Now when you REALLY start having to pay for gas and not the cheap prices yuse all enjoy now .....

Hail.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

My wife and I rarely do fast food. Last year, it dawned on us that McDonalds for the two of us was like $17.00 while there was an amazing Pho place in the same plaza where a quick to go meal was like $15.00. McDonalds has gotten weirdly expensive but - like I said - I don't go often enough to completely understand when this started.

(I have a theory though that places get away with price increases now because of debit cards. When people carried cash, there was a psychological thing where we wanted to hand someone a five or a ten or a twenty. So, a McDonalds lunch was under $5. Because sometimes all you had was a fiver. Now, it can be $5.78 and who cares. It's not real money. I was always much more aware of my actual financial resources when I would take out a few hundred bucks on a Friday and use that to live on. Now, it's just some weird, vague number on my phone).

[Hubbs]

Welcome to what the rest of the Western World pays.

Glad yers could finally join us

Now when you REALLY start having to pay for gas and not the cheap prices yuse all enjoy now .....

Hail.

Oh please, yours are still more expensive, you have a VAT.

[zoony]

My wife and I rarely do fast food. Last year, it dawned on us that McDonalds for the two of us was like $17.00 while there was an amazing Pho place in the same plaza where a quick to go meal was like $15.00. McDonalds has gotten weirdly expensive but - like I said - I don't go often enough to completely understand when this started.

(I have a theory though that places get away with price increases now because of debit cards. When people carried cash, there was a psychological thing where we wanted to hand someone a five or a ten or a twenty. So, a McDonalds lunch was under $5. Because sometimes all you had was a fiver. Now, it can be $5.78 and who cares. It's not real money. I was always much more aware of my actual financial resources when I would take out a few hundred bucks on a Friday and use that to live on. Now, it's just some weird, vague number on my phone).

I do fast food a few times a month, I think I usually pay around $7-8. But it's almost alway chick fil a or subay.

I'm usually amazed that they're able to sell it so cheap. What do you suppose their average ticket is, $10 or so? And you figure they probably average 50 tickets per hour over the course of an entire day... That's what, $7500 per day or so?

I figure they operate on a 50 margin. So that's $3250 gross margin for the day. Geez, after you factor in rent, utilities, payroll (have you seen how many freakin people they have working at those places?), insurance, MRO.... That doesn't leave a whole lot

I might be way off on my estimates but I don't think I am. I might be overstating... Seems like I've heard the average fast food joint does about $1.5 million, which would be about half the above income scenario

Maybe their margins are much higher, I dunno