And that is expected as that is how the world works - those people are not to be blamed, they are a product of their time. Good times create weak people, weak people create hard times, hard times create strong people and strong people create good times. : )
Cold brew is not drip, btw. Different process, more coffee used etc. IMO, price increases are just playing catchup. Rents: Landlords got burned in the pandemic. We ended up giving away about 25% of our rent for two years. (300+ units) I had one property and after building and leasing up, I made 0.3% total over 6 years for taking that risk. Normal, historical, is 18-23% per year. Food served: MY friend who owns 3 places told me they were destroyed in the pandemic from no business. Raw materials have gone up and he kept them away for a long time but can now no longer subsidize them. Also keep in mind that prices have been kept artificially low on many things manufactured due to offshore production. Now the supply chain is disrupted, and those facilities are over capacity All that being said, I made a new spice cake dessert. Butter is 2x now, so it uses oil, and one egg and cardamon, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger and clove. 9" sq pan cost is about 1.00. Right out of the old west frontier playbook. Some greed, but a lot of survival maneuvering going on.
I took a road trip a few weeks ago between D.C. and Boca, stopping at various points along the way to visit family, etc. Costs are up everywhere, but Florida was by far the worst.
Consider where the restaurant is operating out of. Shopping center rent is overpriced and there is the ever-increasing labor costs mandated by politicians who have never run a business. Minimum wage is $15+ in the areas I have business interests in. That’s on top of health benefits and employment taxes and insurance. Of course not even dishwashers want to work for minimum wage. There’s a reason the trend in the food industry is toward food trucks, pop ups and farmers’ markets.
I don't see any correlation between shortages and regulation / controls. Medical care and costs are highly regulated in Japan or Germany, I see no shortages anywhere. Education and it's cost is highly regulated in Japan and Germany, no shortages there either. So your correlation claim does not appear to hold.