Adelaide’s Duke of Brunswick hotel hits back over harsh schnitzel price reviews

The owner of the popular hotel says online reviewers would be stunned if they knew what she really made from her “exorbitant” prices.

An Adelaide publican has revealed the meagre profit she makes on each chicken schnitzel sold in response to a series of online reviews criticising the venue’s “exorbitant” prices.

Simone Douglas, owner of city pub The Duke of Brunswick, broke down the costs of serving up their $33 chicken parmigiana with salad, from ingredients and wages right down to expenses such as rent, insurance, gas and electricity.

The data showed that her business makes just over $2 for every schnitzel sold.

Ms Douglas said she shared the information on social media to educate the public after the pub had recently received several negative online reviews based “purely on price”.

“Some customers have teed off, saying it’s nothing with our food, service, the ambience … but that they wouldn’t come back because it’s $33 for a schnitzel, like we’re making a fortune off the back off that,” she said.

Duke of Brunswick owner Simone Douglas with a $33.50 chicken schnitzel with salad, with each one sold making just a $2 profit. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“When I broke it down and ran the maths, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of work for $2 profit at the end of the day’.”

That profit had only dwindled in recent years, Ms Douglas said, with expenses growing by up to 40 per cent in the last five years.

The hospitality veteran said despite those rising costs, including rent, insurance and power, she’s only lifted the schnitzel price – the pub’s most popular dish – by about $4 in that time.

“Small business operators do it for the love of hospitality. We’re just happy to make a living, no one is getting rich. It’s exhausting when you have people leaving one or two star reviews because they think your pricing is exorbitant,” she said.

“People could be a bit kinder and more considerate and I think part of that is the education process.

“We’re not asking for sympathy, we’re just asking for a level of empathy and understanding.”

Australian Hotels Association SA chief executive Anna Moeller said consumers needed to be aware that hospitality owners are battling a combined “cost of living and cost of operating crisis”.

“There’s no price gouging – they’re just trying to stay afloat,” she said.

“It’s no different to the current debate over the price of a cup of coffee. It’s going up because of rising costs and cafe owners have to try and stay viable.”

Ms Douglas said larger hotel groups might be able to charge less for the same dish and maintain their profit margins.

“Sometimes the general public go to a pub that is perhaps part of a larger group and they have a $20 schnitzel and just assume that’s what we should be able to charge across the board,” she said.

“But those family-run hotels don’t have the same buying power and don’t have a gaming room that’s subsidising their profit margins.

“It’s not surprising that we’re seeing so many hospitality businesses shut down. That’s the reality we’re dealing with.”

Duke of Brunswick’s chicken schnitzel with salad. Picture: Brenton Edwards

True cost of The Duke of Brunswick’s $33 chicken parmi

(calculated as an annual cost as a percentage against annual sales, against the price of a schnitzel)

GST – $3.04

Raw ingredients – $10.05

Serviette – $0.14

Base wages – $11.73

Super – $1.35

Payroll tax – $0.58

Work cover – $0.31

Rent – $1.99

Insurance – $0.09

Gas – $0.36

Electricity – $0.58

Licence fees – $0.04

Subscriptions – $0.26

Accounting fees – $0.01

Rubbish removal – $0.005

Repairs and maintenance – $0.005

Sundry replacements – $0.01

Marketing and promotion – $0.34

Company tax on profit – $0.0079

Net profit – $2.03

Rising costs over last five years

Rent – up 36.9 per cent

Electricity – up 42 per cent

Gas – up 42 per cent

Accounting – up 14 per cent

Laundry – up 38 per cent

Payroll tax – up 4.95 per cent

Wages – up 23 per cent