I did some checking and thought I'd share the numbers I found....
It was suggested a few times on here how people will dress up, drive to a restaurant, order cake, pay a fortune for it and never bat an eye. But they want a custom designed wedding cake for something like 27 cents a serving.
So I checked some local well known restaurants and found the following (in Indianapolis):
At Olive Garden, a slice of Lemon Creme Cake is $5.25 a slice.
At Bravo's, a slice of chocolate cake with a warm center is $5.50.
At O'Charley's, a slice of carrot cake is $3.99; a slice of Chocolate Chocolate Cake is $4.99.
Now I'm also assuming these slices are possibly larger than a wedding cake slice, but I also assume these are not made from scratch and custom designed for each customer. Neither do these restaurants deliver these cakes and set them up in ornate and delicate designs to be the centerpiece of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
I printed the website menus and I now keep them handy so I can pull them out and show a bride ..... *IF* that's ever needed! 
I'd be curious as to how these prices compare in other areas ... close? cheaper? higher?
thats really interesting. i never thought of it like that, but its too true! those restaurant desserts (even ones that aren't very good) are pricey and people pay that all the time.
I was totally thinking that when I went to the Olive garden the other day. I also went to a cookie place today and they had regular cookies for $1.25 each..... yet when I quoted someone today 80cents a cookie (my boss, so I was giving him a break) he seemed to balk at the price, yet these are cutout, frosted with MMF, bagged (see what he ordered below)
Wedding slices are 1 inch by 2 inches by 4 inches, so how many slices of wedding cake does make one of those olive garden pieces? That of course doen't include the custom part, the set up part and the rest........ I don't think the olive garden cakes are more than 2 pieces of wedding cake....... so that considered, I don't understand why people think something CUSTOM should be cheaper than the grocery store.
i bought a few pieces of cheesecake at marie callanders a few months ago for my daughter in laws birthday....ended up being 25 bucks!
He balked at .80cents a cookie??? A discount rate would have been a buck a cookie. You're nice than I. I usually underprice myself, but you can't even get those cheap mass made smiley cookies for under $1.50
Hope he gives you a nice big raise.. fat chance if he scoffed at your price.
wouldn't be doing him any favors anytime soon. Your cookies are lovely!
I did some checking and thought I'd share the numbers I found....
It was suggested a few times on here how people will dress up, drive to a restaurant, order cake, pay a fortune for it and never bat an eye. But they want a custom designed wedding cake for something like 27 cents a serving.
So I checked some local well known restaurants and found the following (in Indianapolis):
At Olive Garden, a slice of Lemon Creme Cake is $5.25 a slice.
At Bravo's, a slice of chocolate cake with a warm center is $5.50.
At O'Charley's, a slice of carrot cake is $3.99; a slice of Chocolate Chocolate Cake is $4.99.
Now I'm also assuming these slices are possibly larger than a wedding cake slice, but I also assume these are not made from scratch and custom designed for each customer. Neither do these restaurants deliver these cakes and set them up in ornate and delicate designs to be the centerpiece of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
I printed the website menus and I now keep them handy so I can pull them out and show a bride ..... *IF* that's ever needed!
I'd be curious as to how these prices compare in other areas ... close? cheaper? higher?
At The Cheesecake Factory (my favorite restaurant); I pay 6.50 for a slice of my fav cheesecake, 7.10 with tax!!!
At a restaurant, you're also paying for the restaurant experience-- someone to bring food to you and refill your water and take away your dirty dishes and a pretty room to sit in and all that.
That's not what most cake decorators are selling.
At a restaurant, you're also paying for the restaurant experience-- someone to bring food to you and refill your water and take away your dirty dishes and a pretty room to sit in and all that.
That's not what most cake decorators are selling.
THat is a good point I hadn't considered since I do catering, also, and I do provide most of that at wedding receptions where I do the cake and food. (Except for providing the room ..... havent' achieved the goal of owning my own reception hall yet! 
)
but I also assume these are not made from scratch
Not necessarily so - some restaurants buy in their cakes some do not. We have a restaurant and we make ours from scratch. Our Mars Bar Cheesecake sells for $7.00 a slice (which is quite reasonable compared with other restaurants in our area whose desserts tend to be in the $9-$15 range).
That being said though I want to make and decorate special occasion cakes but quite frankly it is a lot more profitable for us to make a cake with minimal decoration (but served with sauce and garnish) and sell it by the slice than to sell a whole custom designed cake for a special occasion as our customers often dont want to pay much at all for a whole cake. So it does happen all over (even at restaurants 
) I do also agree with the other comment re: the restaurant experience - it costs a lot to provide that experience wages being the biggest expense.
Hey Ozcake! I just wanted to say Congratulations on your pregnancy! I am soooo clucky and trying to decide if we should go for a third child!! 
I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy!
Thanks so much Keira, I was sick a lot earlier on but am feeling much better now 
Been feeling the baby move a lot (especially when I am at the computer maybe a little cake central fan in the making lol) good luck with everything if you decide to go for a third.
I agree with the high prices at a resturant, but you have to remember you go in there and order ONE slice, and it is a treat....... would you be willing to pay $7.00 to $15.00 per slice for and entire cake to serve about 100 ? Not many people would.......
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