Are you rich or poor? Find out by what take-away is near you

A map of Sydney has revealed a huge divide that is impacting every single suburb and there’s a very sad reason why.

In Sydney, there’s a very quick way to know if you are rich or poor.

Are you closest to a Messina or a Cold Rock? A Rashay’s or a Fratelli Fresh? A Chargrill Charlie’s or an El Jannah?

Forget the latte line. Let’s talk about the food line.

On a map, the eastern and western suburbs of Sydney are easily divided by the type of food chains in the area.

Why is this?

According to AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver, it all comes down to businesses being aware of the kind of consumer they attract.

“More affluent people tend to buy more affluent products. Retail businesses know that, so when they are locating, they will pick somewhere there likely to have a more eager customer base,” he explained.

This map of Sydney shows the distribution of El Jannah eateries (in blue, largely across the city’s western suburbs) and Chargrill Charlies (in red, the eastern and northern suburbs). Picture: news.com.au

Currently we are watching this syndrome play-out in real time, with a wave of Marrickville locals expressing outrage over plans to build a McDonald’s in the inner west suburb.

The drama went down in the Inner West City Council’s planning alert portal where locals can share their thoughts on proposed developments.

One local wrote: “As a longtime Marrickville resident I strongly object to this proposal, because it is crass, trashy, nauseating and, worst of all, boring.”

Another wrote: “Marrickville [is] really going down the drain.”

The differences in where you can eat based on the suburb you are in really highlight the class divides in Sydney, but Mr Oliver explains while it may be confronting to see on a map, it’s actually very normal.

“In every city, there’s a class divide, and at what point does it become a problem? Well, that is a cause of great debate,” he said.

When you investigate deeper, it is interesting to know the working class are basically eating entirely different take-out food from the rich.

For instance, the up-market gelato chain Messina has 16 stores across Sydney.

In 10 of those locations — Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Bondi Junction, Lane Cove, Manly, Randwick, Pyrmont, Forest Lodge, Rosebery, Newtown — the medium weekly income is above $2000 a week.

Two of those locations are located in business districts Martin Place and Circular Quay, and only four of their stores are in areas where the medium weekly income per household is less than $2000.

Meanwhile, Cold Rock’s locations are mostly in areas where the weekly medium income is less than $1500 a week.

Hugely popular gelato chain Messina (blue) has 16 store locations, largely in affluent inner-city suburbs, while Cold Rock ice creamery is exclusively in the south and west (maroon). Picture: news.com.au

The same goes for family-owned restaurant chain Rashay’s (orange) and Italian eatery Fratelli Fresh (green), with their store locations splitting the city’s west and eastern suburbs. Picture: news.com.au

Family-owned Rashay’s and Italian eatery Fratelli Fresh suffer from the same syndrome.

Rashay’s is largely located in lower socio-economic areas, while Fratelli Fresh is typically found in richer regions of Sydney. That means Fratelli Fresh is an eastern suburbs staple, and Rashay’s is a western suburbs favourite.

The same goes with the famous chicken shop franchises Chargrill Charlies and El Jannah.

Cult charchoal chicken chain El Jannah is located in more working-class suburbs, whereas Chargrill Charlies is positioned where the elite chow down.

There is still room for some crossover.

For instance, El Jannah opened up a restaurant in Newtown in 2019 - an area that has made the transition from working class to hipster hub over the last decade.

According to Dr Gary Mortimer, a consumer and retail expert at the Queensland University of Technology, this hasn’t happened by accident.

“Retailers look at the income in areas and make decisions based on that. For instance, if you have a premium ice cream store, and the average income in Sydney’s Mosman is $125,000 a year, you are going to set up shop there,” he said.

“Similarly, it doesn’t make sense for a franchise of a premium burger chain to open up in a working-class area and compete against Hungry Jacks. You aren’t giving the community what they want, and you are offering a product they might be outpriced by.”

In Sydney you really are what you eat.