
Brits will think twice about eating out. Restaurants in Britain are warning they will have to pay €100 for a steak if they pass the cost on from their energy bills to their product prices.
More than 50,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Britain are going under due to rising costs. Martin Williams, chief executive of restaurant chain Rare Restaurants, is calling on newly appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss to step in with a support package to save thousands of businesses and even more jobs from bankruptcy.
"If rising energy prices are not addressed, restaurants across the industry will not be able to survive and many small and medium-sized businesses will unfortunately go out of business," British entrepreneur Williams told the Telegraph. At the moment, beef steaks at the chain's 22 restaurants range from 22 to 65 euros, depending on the size.
Energy costs in restaurants have quintupled
For example, a restaurant in Winchester, Hampshire, is being forced to close due to rising energy bills.
David Nicholson, owner of the popular restaurant, tells the Daily Mail that energy costs have quintupled from €23,000 a year to €115,000.
Pubs across the UK face a similar problem, with landlords fearing they will have to raise the price of a pint (a unit of measure used in Britain for draft beer) to €23 or close this winter altogether.