Headline: menu inflation
The single number that matters this month: US restaurants raised menu prices by 3.37% year over year. Grocery inflation, meanwhile, is running at 2.13%.
If your restaurant hasn't raised menu prices in the last 12 months, you've quietly become 3.37% cheaper than the market. That's your margin evaporating without a decision.
Wholesale food costs
The USDA tracks weekly wholesale prices for the commodities that build restaurant menus. Here's what your suppliers are paying — before markups, before delivery, before your kitchen.
Where independents cluster
Restaurants Nooshi is currently tracking, by metro. Higher counts = more competitive markets where pricing intelligence matters most.
Total independent restaurants in the Nooshi network: 11. Growing weekly as new customers onboard.
What we're watching next month
Three signals we'll be tracking:
- Whether the food-away-from-home CPI decelerates as commodity prices soften.
- Which metros see the largest month-over-month change in tracked restaurant count.
- Whether Q4 holiday menu launches lean value or premium — usually a leading indicator for the year's macro consumer mood.
Methodology
The Nooshi Index draws from three public sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI and PPI food series), USDA Economic Research Service (weekly wholesale price feeds), and Nooshi.ai's own network data (independent restaurants who have signed up for the free tier at nooshi.ai). Menu-pricing behavior at the restaurant level comes from public Google Business listings, refreshed weekly. National CPI and USDA figures are updated monthly by their respective agencies; the Nooshi Index reflects the most recent published values as of publication date.
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