I went out to pick up some lunch today from the Apollo Chinese Restaurant. At the beginning of this year, I found it to be my favorite cheap place to eat at Collegetown. A rice box with two items of side vegatables or meats cost only $4.75, which was cheap by Collegetown standards.After the Winter Break, I returned to Cornell early to work at CIT, and immediately off the bus, I went back to Apollo to order some dinner. It turned out they raised the price to $4.99. Gone are the days I get back a quarter in change. Now I get merely a penny. Man, how I miss that quarter.
Today, they posted a notice that the same $4.75 order from less than a year ago will again raise its price. This time, to $5.50. The economics of the situation says that the premium for the mediocre restaurant that is Apollo is too high. There are now better alternatives around. Look out, here comes the Substitution Effect!
I'm sure not going to return to Apollo as often as I had during the beginning of last semester. Though I have said the same before, after the Winter Break price hike. I would be curious to see, however, how much demand would go down for this once popular restaurant of cheap food with a lot of variety (at least to the Chinese crowd).
Damn you, Apollo. Damn you, royally.