Restaurant Chains Push $6-to-$23.49 Barbell Menus as Spending Split Widens
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 12
Restaurant Chains Push $6-to-$23.49 Barbell Menus as Spending Split Widens
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 12
Summary
$6 value meals and $23.49 premium bowls are increasingly appearing on the same chain menus as restaurants target both bargain hunters and diners still willing to splurge.
That barbell strategy reflects a widening consumer divide: one group is pulling back sharply on spending, while another remains ready to pay for indulgent or trend-driven items.
IHOP, Applebee’s, Red Robin and Chili’s are all leaning into the approach, pairing low-price promotions with higher-end dishes to capture different occasions, budgets and younger traffic.
The middle of the menu is thinning as chains concentrate on the two ends, reviving a pricing tactic that Cornell professor Alex Susskind said has cycled through the food business for decades.