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Dozens of restaurants nationwide have quietly begun using surge pricing and have reaped tens of thousands of dollars in profits from the controversial practice, The Post has learned.

Barbecue chain Tony Romas and nearly 100 other small restaurants have already turned to fluctuating menu prices during peak times — similar to the rollout planned by fast-food giant Wendy’s next year — according to one company that sells the software specializing in dynamic pricing.

Los Angeles-based Sauce Pricing — a startup backed by founding members of Sweetgreen, Uber, Airbnb and several private equity firms — said restaurants have the opportunity to increase item prices by 10% to 20% during the lunch rush so customers might pay an extra $1 to $2 for a $10 item, according to a blog post on its website.

In some cases, weve actually seen some restaurants go from having a 10% profit margin to a 20% profit margin, the blog post said.

One of its customers, Las Vegas-based casual eatery Rachels Kitchen, earned $64,000 in additional annual profit across three stores, according to Sauce Pricing’s website.

The Rachel’s Kitchen CEO Debbie Roxarzade confirmed the company uses Sauce Pricing’s software.

The prices “don’t increase or decrease [by] more than 15%, that’s our cap for all menu items,” she told The Post on Tuesday. She also said the price fluctuations only apply to the restaurant’s delivery orders from Doordash, UberEats and Grubhub.

Orlando, Fla.-based Tony Roma’s, popular for its ribs, did not return calls for comment.

Ice cream favorite Carvel was also listed as a Sauce Pricing customer on its website, but the Fudgie the Whale maker denied any ties to the startup when contacted by The Post.

Sauce Pricing founder Colin Webb did not immediately return calls and emails for comment.

Uber-style surge pricing allows a business to hike up the cost of an item when a restaurant is slammed. Theoretically, restaurants can also lower prices during slower times, though it’s not clear whether Wendy’s will let favorites like Dave’s Single fall below its base price.

The announcement by Wendys chief executive Krik Tanner this month that the burger chain will invest in a “dynamic pricing” pilot sparked anger and anxiety from inflation-battered customers fed-up with ever increasing food prices.

Price gouging. The corporate food company go to, posted one angry user on X.

Most of the price adjustments, however, are on online orders and are meant to help restaurants cope with rising labor costs and delivery fees from Doordash, Grubhub and UberEats, Sauce Pricing’s website notes.

Delivery accounts for a growing portion of restaurant revenues and costs, particularly since the pandemic, experts told The Post.

One industry veteran pointed out that restaurants have long lowered and raised their prices to lure customers during slow and busy times.

Happy Hour is dynamic pricing and so is a burger that costs more at dinner than at lunch or an offer of free delivery during a thunderstorm, said Chris Webb, chief executive and founder of ChowNow, an online food ordering company.

But people like reliability and having prices change because the demand is higher is not hospitality. 

Other experts said its just a matter of time before the restaurant industry catches up with industries like airlines and hotels that have mastered surge pricing.

Sometimes you check a flight and the price change within a week is dramatic, but it doesnt stop people from flying, said restaurant analyst Mark Kalinowski. 

Ultimately, consumers will accept it if a large number of restaurant chains do it, too.

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Science

Crystalline Ice Discovered in Space: New Study Reveals Hidden Order in Cosmic Ice

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Crystalline Ice Discovered in Space: New Study Reveals Hidden Order in Cosmic Ice

Water ice coats many outer solar system bodies – from Jupiter’s icy moon Ganymede (above) to interstellar dust. On Earth, ice freezes into a neat crystal lattice, but in the deep cold of space it was assumed to form a completely amorphous (glassy) solid. A new study by University College London and Cambridge scientists challenges this picture. Their computer simulations and X-ray tests on cosmic “low-density” ice suggest it actually contains tiny crystalline grains. In some models roughly 20–25% of the ice was in crystal form, overturning the long-held view that space ice is entirely structureless.

Simulations reveal hidden nanocrystals

According to the paper, computer simulations of space ice showed it contains nanocrystals. In one approach, researchers cooled virtual water to –120 °C at different rates to form model “ice cubes.” Depending on the cooling speed, the simulated ice ranged from fully amorphous to partly ordered. Structures with roughly 16–19% of the molecules in tiny crystal clusters best matched published X-ray data for low-density ice. In another simulation, thousands of nanometer-sized ice grains were packed together and then the remaining water molecules were randomized. This produced ice about 25% crystalline, yet still reproduced the known diffraction pattern.

In laboratory experiments the team also made actual low-density amorphous ice by vapor deposition and gentle compression. When these samples were slowly warmed to crystallize, the resulting ice showed a “memory” of its formation method.

Implications for planets and origins of life

The findings give “a good idea of what the most common form of ice in the Universe looks like at an atomic level,” which is important for models of planet and galaxy formation. They also bear on theories of life’s origins. Partly crystalline ice has less internal space to trap organic molecules, potentially making it a less efficient vehicle for amino acids or other prebiotic compounds. However, Dr. Davies notes that pockets of fully amorphous ice still exist, so cosmic dust grains and cometary ices could continue to harbor organic ingredients in those disordered regions.

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Business

Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering ‘changes’ to ISAs – and says there’s too much focus on ‘risk’ in investing

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering 'changes' to ISAs - and says there's too much focus on 'risk' in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.

In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.

She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.

However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.

In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”

She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).

She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.

“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.

Read more:
Should you get Lifetime ISA? Two key issues to consider
Building societies protest against proposed ISA reforms
Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Reeves’s fiscal rules?

Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.

On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈  

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.

“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.

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Politics

Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering ‘changes’ to ISAs – and says there’s too much focus on ‘risk’ in investing

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on

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering 'changes' to ISAs - and says there's too much focus on 'risk' in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.

In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.

She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.

However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.

In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”

She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).

She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.

“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.

Read more:
Should you get Lifetime ISA? Two key issues to consider
Building societies protest against proposed ISA reforms
Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Reeves’s fiscal rules?

Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.

On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈  

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.

“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.

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