Alex Pomerantz, a Boston University College of Arts and Sciences senior, said that eating out at Boston-area restaurants is too pricey for a college student’s budget.
But Pomerantz is not alone. According to a Zagat 2012 America’s Top Restaurants Survey released last week, fewer consumers have been spending money on dining out this year.
About 45 percent of all meals are eaten out of the home, a decrease from 52 percent before the recession hit, according to Zagat.
Tony Succar, manager of District Pizzeria, located at 270 Babcock St. near West Campus, said that the impact of the failing economy has been “very bad” on the restaurant.
“Before, students would come from West Campus and 1019 [Commonwealth Ave.] all the time,” he said. “But business has gone down.”
Succar said that the majority of his business comes from BU students.
The survey was based off of responses from about 156,000 diners, who in total ate out about 25 million times last year. This comes out to an average of 3.1 restaurant visits per week. The results have not decreased from last year’s findings, but are less than the 3.3 meals per week recorded before the recession.
The average Bostonian eats out fewer times per week than the national average, standing at 2.5 meals per week.
“The recession has hurt,” said Arunee Fong, a manager at Brown Sugar Café, a Thai restaurant located at 1033 Commonwealth Ave. “The number of people coming in has changed and gone down.”
Fong said that one third of all business comes from BU students and staff and that 80 percent of all restaurants in the area have been hurt by the bad economy.
While students said that prices can make eating out difficult, many said going to restaurants is sometimes their most convenient option.
“I would say I eat out twice a month,” Pomerantz said. “Eating out is good for dates and celebrations.”
Pomerantz said he enjoys eating out around Allston, where he lives, because of the variety of ethnic restaurants available. He said he also finds the communal setting of a busy restaurant enjoyable.
“I eat out about six times a month, at least so far this semester,” said Ari Stern, a CAS junior. “That’s a lot more than I used to.”
Stern said he eats out more often now out of necessity rather than pleasure.
“I’m stuck on campus late and don’t have time to make food at home and cook for myself,” he said.
Twenty-seven percent of diners reported spending more on a meal than they did a year ago, according to the Zagat study. The average meal cost has increased less than 1 percent in the past year, and now stands at $35.65 per meal.
While some students said the costs of dining out are too expensive, others said they get tired of on-campus options.
“I have started to eat out a lot more,” said Tyler Shapiro, a College of General Studies freshman. “There are only so many times you can eat at the dining hall.”
Shapiro said he enjoys eating out because of the eclectic choices of food and the quality.
“I would much rather get a meal at UBurger than have a dining hall cheeseburger,” he said.
Succar said that although business is not as strong as it once was, it has not led to any layoffs or reduced hours.
Fong also said that the weak economy has not forced Brown Sugar Café to cut any costs.
“Business is good still,” Fong said. “But not as strong as it once was.”
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