Philadelphia restaurants cut prices as costs and closures rise

By Elena Vasquez

Thirty-nine Philadelphia restaurants closed from January through June 2026, after 86 restaurants and bars shut across the Philadelphia area in 2025.

That contraction meets rising input costs and thin margins. Global energy and fertilizer supply disruptions tied to the war in Iran have added pressure to restaurant operating expenses already 36% higher than in 2019.

Fourteen years ago, Marti Lieberman launched Mac Mart, a fast-casual mac-and-cheese bowl business built from a few family recipes. It moved from a food truck to brick-and-mortar, franchised, and grew to more than 30 employees. Lieberman said the business was flying high.

Last January, Lieberman closed the franchise system, let go of employees and moved Mac Mart into a kiosk at 18th and Arch Streets in Center City. COVID-19 sent customers home, and fewer returned as remote work became routine.

She also said customers now hesitate to spend amid rising prices, her own supply costs have climbed, and her former Rittenhouse Street spot was robbed nine times within six years.

The kiosk is now in the green. Mac Mart’s social media page has more than 53,000 followers and generates most of the business, while Lieberman uses those skills for other businesses during downtime and from home. Delivery apps broaden reach, but platform fees and customer promo codes make those orders rarely profitable.

Lieberman now runs the kiosk with her husband and still loves the business, although she said a 9-to-5 job would have preserved weekends and kept her from missing birthdays, weddings and funerals. “You either have to humble yourself and start over or call it quits,” she said. “We were too egotistical to call it quits.”

At Honeysuckle on Broad Street, co-founder Omar Tate said meat costs 30% more and vegetables are up 10% to 15%. Co-founder Cybille St. Aude-Tate described mornings when the Tates questioned whether they could keep going.

The restaurant opened in April 2025 and collected major accolades. It made Bon Appétit’s list of 19 Best New Restaurants in the country, while the founders joined Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs list and became James Beard Award finalists. Philadelphia Magazine ranked Honeysuckle the city’s second-best restaurant in 2026.

Those honors did not produce financial stability, Tate said, calling Honeysuckle popular but financially unstable.

What does flexible pricing change for operators?

It turns price flexibility into a tool for filling staffed hours and widening access, while higher spenders help cover lower-paying guests.

Honeysuckle Midday, its three-course pay-what-you-can lunch, offers $20, $35 and $55 price points. Diners choose from dinner-menu dishes and receive the same service. The program generates revenue while employees are already on the clock.

Tate said the $20 option can mean a loss, while $55 diners offset those costs. It also gives customers unable to afford Honeysuckle’s $135 dinner tasting menu an entry point.

After about a month, the lunch averages 25 customers per service, some returning several times a week. The Tates aim to double that count and have expanded catering and private events to generate revenue outside dinner service. They said the expanded service helped produce a 70% year-over-year revenue increase in October.

In East Kensington, Post Haste introduced pay-what-you-can Sundays after what executive chef Ari Miller called an abysmal night for business. Diners can order the regular menu and choose what to pay; drinks remain full price, and the restaurant adds an automatic gratuity to compensate staff.

Miller said most diners pay around the suggested amount, but some pay less and others more. One customer left $50 for a $10 dish.

The program has increased Sunday sales and brought regulars back on other nights. Miller said the effort was not charity but a way to democratizing access to the restaurant’s carefully crafted food.

The restaurant also introduced a $35 children’s tasting menu with grilled cheese, buttered noodles with hot dogs and chocolate pudding. It gives parents an alternative to hiring a babysitter.

In November 2025, Fishtown’s Percy abandoned an upscale hybrid concept six months after opening and became an all-day diner. It cut prices on most dishes by $4 to $6 to pursue repeat weekly visits rather than special-occasion dining.

Near Rittenhouse Square, Mission Taqueria’s chefs replaced sirloin with chuck roll in carne asada tacos, reducing input costs without substantially raising menu prices. Regional chain Harvest Seasonal Grill lowered prices and adjusted dishes; its owners said customer traffic subsequently increased 10% to 14% year over year.

In July, restaurant group CookNSolo announced the closure of six Federal Donuts & Chicken and Goldie locations. The group cited weakening fast-casual demand and slow weekday lunch business since the pandemic, saying consolidation would help preserve both brands.

The National Restaurant Association reported that 33% of surveyed operators were not profitable in the first half of 2026. It estimates a typical independent restaurant earned a pretax profit margin of roughly 5% before the pandemic, leaving little room for higher food, labor and other expenses.

Post Haste has come off a slow summer, and inconsistent traffic still makes busy nights difficult to predict. Sunday gains have not removed the financial pressure. Miller said: “We’re currently having hard conversations. At some point funds run out, and decisions have to be made.”

For Post Haste and its peers, the immediate test is whether flexible pricing and repeat visits can produce enough revenue to protect margins before dwindling funds force operating decisions.