Goodbye, free bread basket

The familiar restaurant scenario where the waiter brings you a basket of bread to nibble while you are perusing the menu is fading into oblivion (at least in the U.S.), according to this Yahoo! Food article. The recent lawsuit by shareholders of Darden (parent company of the Olive Garden restaurant chain) brings this trend to light. Investors objected to the unlimited free breadsticks (700 million sticks per year) that had been a trademark of the chain, calling the practice “massive unnecessary waste.” Olive Garden defends the free breadsticks as being part of traditional Italian hospitality.

As restaurants battle increasing food costs, more of them are doing away with gratis bread, reasoning that the shift will save money but won’t alienate customers. As industry consultant Joe Spinelli notes, “I haven’t seen anything to indicate that people aren’t going to go to a restaurant because they have to pay for bread.” And as more consumers move to cut gluten and carbs from their diets, it’s also less risky to take away the free bread.

Although you may be saying adieu to free slices, the good news is that the bread for which you will be charged is generally better than what you were getting for free.  Restaurants like Barnyard in Los Angeles report that their artisanal bread basket (priced at $4 USD and served with a trio of Dijon mustard, Wisconsin butter, and house-made preserves) has sold better than any other menu item since the restaurant opened in 2012.

This trend may work its way into other menu items. Spinelli believes that we “might be paying for specialty sauces and condiments that used to be free, too.” Maybe we’ll soon see a ketchup and mustard charge at burger joints. Does this trend bother you, or do you think it’s just good business? Have you seen it outside the U.S.?

Photo of Ciabatta from indexed blog Leite’s Culinaria