Falling food costs and a prolonged recession may tempt restaurant chains into a wave of discounts next year, leaving potential profits on the table.
With prices for many food items and fuel hitting record highs this summer, restaurants were forced to raise the prices of their dishes beyond historical norms, producing a bitter proposition for customers watching the values of their homes and investment portfolios shrink.
Now, with food inflation expected to ease next year and the price of oil already in freefall, analysts will be watching whether restaurants can hold onto …

Food Lion has launched yet another Internet game to encourage interaction with its stores and brands.
Those who play the “snowball fight” game at foodlion.com win a $5-off-a-platter purchase of $29.99 from the Food Lion deli. Players use the computer mouse to aim and click snowballs at snowmen.
The seasonal game comes just weeks after Food Lion ran a Thanksgiving game to encourage interaction with its private-label products. The “Cranberry Cannon Game” involved shooting Food Lion-brand cranberry sauce at flying turkeys. Players collected points based on the number of turkeys they hit. …

The price tag stopped Yvonne Smith in her tracks.
Grocery shoppers continued to grab items from the refrigerated cases around her, but Smith, a local Realtor, said she couldn’t take her eyes off the eggs during a recent shopping trip. She marveled that the Fort Wayne store was charging $1.69 for a dozen eggs – an item that cost less than 90 cents a few years ago.
“I think everything today is high,” Smith said. “You just wish they’d say stop.”
But grocery prices continue to soar, even in a faltering economy. Although …

Bargain hunting in the grocery store isn’t just for hard-core coupon pros anymore.
With food prices climbing at a rate not seen in nearly 20 years and an economy sliding to a low not seen in decades, experts said more grocery shoppers are adopting price-cutting strategies.
Traffic at Web sites devoted to coupon usage soared more than 30 percent over the year ending in October, according to ComScore Media Metrix. And the grocery gurus who run shopping sites say it isn’t just price-conscious moms looking for advice; single professionals and others are …

Shirley Mitchell, 55, picked up a few groceries this week to bake Christmas cookies as gifts. But rather than go to a traditional supermarket, she picked up some of the ingredients at Dollar General, a discount store with more “consumables” on its shelves.
“It’s horrible,” Mitchell said of the economy as she placed a $1.85 package of a dozen eggs into her cart. “I think it’s going to cause everyone to pull tight.”
Economic uncertainty has persuaded more consumers like Mitchell to leave behind traditional grocery stores in search of bargains on …