Keeping prices in check

Cheap food was never a key factor in the success of Harrisburg's Restaurant Row. The draw has always been the concentration of places to go and people to see.

But as food prices rise, local restaurants are cooking up strategies to hold their menu prices steady and keep diners coming back.

"Money is fairly tight right now, so it's not a good time for price increases in the consumer's mind," said Ron Kamionka, president of Kamionka Entertainment Group, which operates about a dozen establishments in downtown Harrisburg and York, including Sawyers Cantina on North Second Street.

Kamionka's bars and restaurants are absorbing the extra costs for now, he said. They also take part in a national purchasing plan that lowers costs.

The recent drop in fuel prices could help rein in food costs, which tend to fluctuate, Kamionka added.

Food costs are the second-biggest concern among restaurant operators nationally, second only to the economy, according to a survey by the National Restaurant Association. In July, 22 percent cited food costs as their toughest challenge, while 29 percent said the economy.

Restaurants have a range of options for dealing with higher prices, according to Patrick Conway, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, a Harrisburg-based trade group.

They can substitute ingredients, shop more aggressively, rework staff schedules to save money or boost creative marketing campaigns to bring in customers. Higher menu prices typically are a last resort, especially in a soft economy.

"Restaurants reinvent themselves constantly, so making those changes is not unusual anyway," Conway said.

Some restaurants will ride out rough times thanks to savvy business decisions, while others will succumb, he said. But the same dynamic is at work in any industry.

Eateries on Restaurant Row are in a fairly strong position, despite the drop in consumer spending, he added. Weeknights might be slower, but the lunchtime and weekend crowds remain strong....