Is $10–12 for a single non-alcoholic beer in a restaurant normal?

[Anonymous]

i was in this restaurant the other day it had just re opened for the summer season and had a new menu so was looking through it , sometimes in the past i'd order a non alcoholic beer as i was driving and didn't want to drink or cause it was way cheaper than normal beer

but apparently not anymore at this place , a bottle of heineken zero was now $10 had been $5.99 2 or 3 years ago and i think it was $7.99 last year , a bottle of corona zero was $12 no joke ( and that does not include tax or tip , is 13% sales tax here so another $1.50 )

i looked online and it said you can buy a six pack of heineken zero for $10.99 and corona for $12.99 , so they want the same price for 1 as what i could buy an entire 6 pack for at the store

which means if there paying $12.99 for a case plus tax so maybe $15 and charging $12 a bottle there possibly making $57 profit on a 6 pack of corona zero does that even make sense , its almost evit as the people drinking it are doing so cause they don't want to drink and drive or on special diets and this place is charging them an insane price

[OneViewpoint]

Depends where you are. In the NYC Metro suburban area, a $10 beer or $15 glass of wine is normal unless you find a happy hour with half price drinks.

[Asker]

were like a rural area but this restaurant is on the water so a summer hot spot , but in the past it didn't cost that much , like heineken zero was only $5.99 , 2 or 3 years ago , seems like someone at restaurant trying to make more money by doing this as there only paying $12.99 or $10.99 a case so could be making almost $50 profit

i understand its a business and they need to pay the bills and pay staff but the stuff only costs $10.99 for a six pack and they might be getting it cheaper if they buy in bulk , i'd be ok with them making a couple dollars per bottle which would put the price near what it was before like $5.99 but them needing to make the extra $4 profit seems really unfair to people like myself who are on diets or don't want to drink and drive home

[OneViewpoint]

So order soda or iced tea. Lower price and no alcohol to worry about. And they are NOT paying $11 to $13 for a case of beer. That is delusional. Yes they get slightly better than retail pricing at distributors but they do not get a 67% discount. A restaurant typically makes a majority of their profit from bar operations and less on food. It's a time tested formula that just works in that industry for most places.

[Asker]

i looked online its $10-$12 for a six pack of non alcoholic beer here , here is an actual listing from wal mart ,

www.walmart.ca/.../1PEX83LCNU1A

seeing $11.95 for a six pack of heineken zero

www.lcbo.com/.../heineken-0-0-589416

true actual beer is more money but this is non alcoholic beer , its cheaper yet there charging crazy prices for it in the restaurant , if there paying $12 for a six pack but charging $10 a bottle that is a huge profit anyway who slice it

[OneViewpoint]

That's great and sounds about right. Here's what you wrote.

"seems like someone at restaurant trying to make more money by doing this as there only paying $12.99 or $10.99 a case so could be making almost $50 profit"

There's a big difference between a case and a sixpack.

[Asker]

when i looked online it only came up as being sold in 6 packs not 24 packs/case.

if they paid $12 for the 6 pack of corona zero and sold each for $12 that would be $72 so minus the cost is how i got the $50 profit figure , true the restaurant has other costs and expenses but no way it cost them enough to justify the $12 per bottle cost even when there expenses are figured into it

there profit margin on that $12 bottle must be huge like over 50% cause other restaurants are selling it for $7.50

[Asker]

i've been to a lot of bars over the years and familar with this industry and can smell a bad deal and this seems like a really bad deal , maybe i should buy some corona zero and drink them in the parking lot outside the restaurant , no one could say anything as there non alcoholic and outside of there property, maybe they'd get the hint there's were too pricey for anyone to buy now?

[Iron_Man]

is it a large glass with an orange on top of it? Yeah those are popular now they’re expensive

[Iron_Man]

Oops, I didn’t pay attention to the part about non-alcohol that would be too much money

[Asker]

no its not one of those fancy corona drinks with an orange , just the basic corona zero in a glass bottle with a lime if you ask.

it seems like too much money , went back briefly last Sunday , some tables for mothers day but zero men at the bar drinking , one bartender even commented it was slower this year than last

well no wonder in this economy who is going to pay those prices when its cheaper to drink at home or cheaper to drink at other bars where you can still get a bottle of beer for under $10

i even know bars where if you go at happy hour or when they have specials where you can get beer for $5 a bottle

[AI Opinion]

In most places, $10–12 for a single non-alcoholic Heineken or Corona in a casual restaurant is very high, even with recent price increases.

Restaurants do mark up drinks heavily to cover rent, staff, glassware, and profit, but non-alcoholic beer usually lands closer to regular soft drink or slightly below alcoholic beer.

I’d personally skip it at that price and order water, soda, or just enjoy one at home from a six-pack instead. 🍺🚗

[Asker]

i've never paid that much for a corona zero , some spots here charge $7.50 or $8 but never heard of $12 plus tax for 1 bottle

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

So is this your first encounter with inflation?

[Asker]

no this restaurant raised some prices by a $1 a beer last year but $12 for 1 single non alcoholic beer is a little hard to stomach when i looked online and you can buy a six pack for $12

you can buy the six pack in a store here for the same price as 1 bottle at that restaurant

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Yeah, that’s inflation

[Asker]

heineken zero $5.99 there 2 or 3 years ago now its $10 ? $4 more in only a couple years , its not even that popular , no one is even going to buy it if its the same price as normal beer

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make here. It got more expensive for the restaurant to buy the product wholesale, so they have to charge more for the individual drinks. Not sure what you’re trying to say.

[Asker]

i don't know if the wholesale price changed or not , it says online you can buy it for $12 in a six pack from places that sell liquor in bulk , so there price may not of changed , just decided to charge more in the restaurant

its like they went through the menu and decided what they could charge more $ for

despite obvious fact $12 for a corona zero is kind of crazy , other restaurants its $7.50 maybe $8 but never even heard of it being $12 anywhere ever

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

So go to other restaurants?

[Asker]

since i've gone to this restaurant a lot over the years i know a lot of the people who work there and its sort of the only restaurant in that area other than 1 smaller one that isn't open yet and only open like June> aug for summer

with gas being more not sure i was going to go there much anyways as it cost so much $ to drive there , the though of paying extra for gas plus an insane price for a beer doesn't give me much motivation to go there

like how hot would the server have to be to justify paying $12 for a non alcoholic beer there?

[Asker]

its $12 plus tax ( which be an extra $1.56 ) so it be $13.56 before tip for 1 bottle of non alcoholic beer there so even if i only tip like $1 its almost $15

it be $10 for other one ( heineken ) plus tax so an extra $ 1.30 so it be $11.30 before tip

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Eewww wtf man why do you talk about people like that?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Yeah, nah, stay mad about it. We’re done talking.

[RedInnocent69]

Depends on the restaurant…

[Asker]

its sort of a trendy summer hot spot but they wanted the same price for corona zero as a beer cost , its actually more than the cheapest beer which was $10 a bottle , other restaurants here there cheapest domestic beer is $5 a bottle so there a lot more

[RedInnocent69]

Yeah, not a surprise

[Mike_Hum]

WTF? just drink a water.

[Jevity]

High