Philly restaurants are changing how they serve customers as higher food costs and uncertain demand squeeze their businesses. Mac Mart, Honeysuckle and Post Haste adjusted operations; others cut prices or narrowed menus.
Marti Lieberman started Mac Mart 14 years ago, growing it from a food truck into a storefront and franchise operation with more than 30 staff at one point. Last January, she closed the franchises, let employees go and moved into a Center City kiosk.
Lieberman said COVID sent customers home, and fewer returned as online work became the norm. She said the former Rittenhouse location was robbed nine times within the last six years. Delivery apps widened its reach, but fees and customer promo codes made many deliveries unprofitable. She said the kiosk near 18th and Arch streets is now in the green.
Mac Mart’s social media has more than 53,000 followers and drives most business, Lieberman said. She also manages other businesses’ accounts. She and her husband kept the restaurant despite considering whether to quit.
Philly Restaurants Test New Ways to Bring in Revenue
Honeysuckle, founded by Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, opened in April 2025. Tate said recognition has not made it financially stable. He said meat costs 30% more than before, while vegetables are up by 10 to 15%. The source report details the pressures facing the restaurant.
Honeysuckle introduced a three-course lunch where customers choose to pay $20, $35 or $55. Tate said the $20 option can mean a loss, while $55 helps offset costs. After about a month, it averaged 25 customers per service, and the owners hope to double that number.
Honeysuckle also expanded catering and private events. The new service helped with a 70% year-over-year increase in revenue in October, according to the source report.
In East Kensington, Post Haste began pay-what-you-can Sundays after struggling to attract customers. Diners choose what to pay for food; drinks remain full price, with an automatic gratuity for staff. Chef Ari Miller said most customers pay around suggested prices, while some pay less and others more. The restaurant’s Sunday sales experiment has increased Sunday sales and brought some diners back on other nights.
Post Haste added a $35 children’s tasting menu with grilled cheese, buttered noodles with hot dogs and chocolate pudding. Miller said it offers parents an affordable alternative to hiring a babysitter. He called the flexible-price program an effort to expand access, not charity.
Philly Restaurants Adjust Prices, Menus and Locations
Fishtown’s Percy abandoned its upscale hybrid concept in November 2025, six months after opening, and became an all-day diner. Most dish prices fell by $4 to $6. Mission Taqueria changed its carne asada tacos from sirloin to chuck roll to reduce costs without substantially raising prices.
Harvest Seasonal Grill lowered prices and adjusted dishes; its owners reported traffic rose by 10% to 14% year over year. In July, CookNSolo announced six Federal Donuts & Chicken and Goldie closures, citing weaker fast-casual demand and slow weekday lunch business since the pandemic. It said consolidation would help preserve both brands.
These changes at Philly restaurants echo pressures described in other small-business coverage, including a winery facing rising costs and the personal sacrifices of business ownership. Philadelphia shops have also reported seasonal customer interest, as described in this account of small-business sales.
The National Restaurant Association said 33% of surveyed operators were not profitable in the first half of 2026. It estimates independent restaurants had a roughly 5% pretax margin before the pandemic. Miller said Post Haste’s Sunday sales improved, but inconsistent traffic and hard financial questions remain. He said that at some point funds run out and decisions have to be made.