SA celebrity pays ‘ridiculous’ $42 for two drinks
A pint of beer and 250ml glass of rose from an unnamed South Australian venue has cost TV host Andrew ‘Cosi’ Costello $42.40… and he wasn’t happy about it.
Cosi took to Facebook to highlight the high price writing, “You gotta feel for bars competing with wage increases, product increases and taxes. But $42.50?”
“I just told my wife drink slowly cause there’s no second round.”
The social media post went viral, however, Cosi told The Advertiser he wasn’t out to shame the restaurant which is why he didn’t name it.
“Hospitality has it tough enough for now without me naming and shaming,” he said.
The post did garner myriad responses.
One Facebook user, Glen Thomson wrote: “that’s ridiculous”.
Jewels Kerswell said she doesn’t frequent hospitality venues anymore and the last time she paid for a pint it was $3.
Venues are receiving more and more sympathy due to the growing costs it now takes to run a venue.
Jenn Webb wrote: “It’s just so sad that the pubs had to charge high to keep their business afloat. We would love to support them but sometimes it’s just too expensive. It’s cheaper to drink at home.”
Australian Hotels Association SA chief executive Anna Moeller said rises in alcohol excise duty rates and wine equalisation taxes were to blame for increasing drink costs.
“Essentially, the excise is a tax on jobs because if there are less people drinking in venues, that’s where the jobs are,” Moeller said.
“Hotels currently can’t simply pass on the full increase in costs, so they try to subsidise it as much as they can, and that’s by squeezing their own profit margins. And that’s why you’ve seen a number of closures recently.”
According to Moeller, the higher costs of going out have changed patrons’ behaviour.
“People are trading down the menu and down the drinks list … couples are coming in a splitting a main between them … that’s a changing behaviour due to the cost-of-living crisis,” she said.
However, she said getting out of the house was necessary for social cohesion.
Jonathan Jackson, 11th June 2024
