Has The Average Dollar Per Person Dropped For the Average Joe Out There?

Now if you work in a real fine dining restaurant where people go in and think nothing of dropping a couple of hundred bucks for a meal with a fine bottle of wine included this probably doesn't apply to you.

But let's say you work in a place where the average joe goes like the place I work in which I would have to say is just a step below fine dining. Where I work the goal is to have each person spend at least $36 before they leave the premises and say good night.

Now here is a question I am just going to throw out there. With the difference ever growing between the haves and the have nots have you noticed the average joe , you know the couple with 2 kids , spending less or going out less? Or if they are going out as often are they frequenting less expensive restaurants than they used to?

A case in point is I live nearby someone who manages a restaurant where the average guest check runs at $25 a head and he is busy. Yet times when we used to be busy we are slower. Is this a trend when we see the average joe moving down a notch to still be able to afford to go out?Like the middle class , is the casual fine dining restaurant going to be squeezed out where we only see low average check restaurants like your Pizza Hut ( no offense intended ) , versus your finer dining restaurant and you all know at least one I am talking of.

Remember the 80's when the tableside fine dining disappeared? That took place during the last great recession in the early 80's. The gueridons never returned after that.

What about where you work? Do you see the same people less and less and what do they spend on the average? I would be interested in hearing what your views are on this.