Pub owner forced to defend cost of a chicken parmi

A publican has been forced to defend the cost of a chicken parmigiana after customers left scathing reviews online criticising the small business.

Adelaide’s Duke of Brunswick owner Simone Douglas used social media as on opportunity to educate her online critics about the true cost of a chicken parmigiana and salad.

In a video posted to Facebook, Ms Douglas broke down just how much it cost to put the $33 meal on a plate breaking down everything from wages, tax, super and other costs associated with running a small business.

“All we are left with is $2.03,” the video states.

Ms Douglas told NewsWire they had a bad run of reviews in the last week that had nothing to do with service or quality, but people complaining about the price of a schnitzel and beer and asking how much money she was making off the meal.

“If you do the math properly it is probably more like $1.80 but there is only so much time you can spend on this stuff,” she said.

The chicken parmigiana is the pub’s bestseller, with hundreds of meals being serviced to customers each week who go through their door for the great service and food.

Ms Douglas said the challenge faced by small business owners was trying to keep up with the CPI index and wage increases then figuring out how much margin they would try and absorb.

“At the end of the day, we charge what we think is a fair price for what we provide that’s designed to keep us in business,” she said.

“I get the consumer doesn’t know what how much it costs to put a meal on the plate, but maybe if I show them then they’ll go back to review us based on our service and the quality of what we provided.”

Ms Douglas said the business was a 100 per cent food and beverage venue that did not have any pokies or TAB facilities to subsidise their profits.

She said it was disheartening for the entire team which worked hard to deliver a beautiful service experience and fantastic food on a plate.

“It’s basically giving the staff the finger,” she said.

“The keyboard warrior of the day just wasn’t expecting to pay that when they went out, and there’s a bit too much of that at the moment, the cost of living crisis is a reality and household budgets are getting squeezed.”

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that hospitality business had one of the highest-risks of failing as more than 1000 businesses went under over a 12 month period to March.

CreditorWatch found hospitality businesses were most vulnerable to current economic conditions by a significant margin over other industries, with a 7.45 per cent chance of failure over the coming year.