If your menu still reflects last quarter’s costs, you are probably selling volume and giving up margin. For US operators in 2026, pricing is less about one big increase and more about a repeatable monthly rhythm.
This guide gives you a field-ready workflow: what to track, how to calculate floor prices, and how to roll updates across dine-in, pickup, and delivery without customer confusion.
Quick takeaways
- Reprice from actual cost changes, not from competitor screenshots.
- Track dine-in and delivery separately before changing any menu line.
- Use a floor-price formula first, then apply market positioning.
- Update top sellers first, then test fringe items and bundles.
Why US operators need tighter review cycles in 2026
USDA ERS (January 23, 2026 update) reports that in December 2025:
- Food-away-from-home prices were up 4.1% year over year.
- Food-at-home prices were up 2.4% year over year.
- 2026 forecast: food-away-from-home is projected to rise 4.6%.
In plain terms: restaurant costs are still moving faster than grocery benchmarks your guests see at retail. That gap is exactly why annual repricing alone is too slow for most independent shops.
Core math before any price change
Use this sequence in the same spreadsheet every month:
Target menu price = New plate cost / Target food cost %Then validate channel economics:
Channel contribution per item = Menu price - (plate cost + packaging + payment/app fees + variable labor)If channel contribution is thin or negative, adjust channel price first instead of forcing a single price across all channels.
Local example: neighborhood grill (Midwest)
Assume a chicken sandwich plate currently sells at $17.00.
- Previous plate cost: $5.10 (30.0%)
- Updated plate cost after supplier changes: $5.61
- Target food cost: 30%
$5.61 / 0.30 = $18.70A practical rollout is usually cleaner than a jump to one exact number:
- Move dine-in to $18.49 or $18.99 based on ticket fit.
- Recalculate delivery separately with packaging and app fees included.
- Recheck mix and contribution after 14 days.
That keeps the decision grounded in math while still respecting local price sensitivity.
Market-specific playbooks that feel local
Downtown lunch-heavy stores
- Protect speed anchors first (sandwiches, bowls, combos).
- Recover margin through modifiers, sides, and beverages.
Suburban family-driven stores
- Avoid broad across-the-board jumps.
- Reprice high-volatility proteins first and keep kids/family bundles stable longer.
College-town cafes
- Use smaller, more frequent steps rather than one large reset.
- Pair price moves with visible value cues (portion consistency, quality specs, house-made components).
30-minute monthly repricing routine
- Pull last 30 days for top 15 items by revenue.
- Refresh costs for top 8 ingredients and top 5 packaging lines.
- Recompute food cost % and channel contribution.
- Flag items 3+ points above target.
- Push price updates to POS, online ordering, and delivery apps on one effective date.
- Review mix, average check, and gross profit dollars at day 7 and day 14.
Customer communication that does not trigger pushback
Use short, concrete language and an absolute date:
“Starting [Month Day, Year], we are updating prices on select items to keep ingredient quality and portion standards consistent.”
Do not overexplain operations in customer-facing copy. Your team can hold a longer internal script, but customer language should stay simple.
Related guides
- US Menu Pricing Calculator
- US Menu Price Rounding Guide
- US Food Cost Calculator
- US Restaurant Labor Cost Calculator
- US Delivery App Pricing Guide
- Food Cost Ratio Guide
- Prime Cost Guide
- Restaurant Break-Even Sales Calculator
Sources (checked on 2026-02-12)
- USDA ERS - Food Price Outlook: Summary Findings (updated 2026-01-23)
- FRED (St. Louis Fed) - CPI Food Away From Home (CUSR0000SEFV)
- FRED (St. Louis Fed) - CPI Food At Home (CUSR0000SAF11)
KitchenCost helps you keep recipe cost, channel margin, and target price in one monthly workflow instead of scattered sheets.