Why high beef prices are driving more Americans to steakhouses

Steak-hungry Americans are skipping the meat aisle — and heading to restaurants instead. Why it matters: Sky-high grocery prices, especially for beef, are reshaping how people consume one of the most expensive proteins — and narrowing the gap between cooking at home and dining out.

Steak has become one of the most expensive items at the grocery store. The average price for uncooked beef steaks is now about $12.74 per pound — a record high, federal data shows.

Driving the news: Darden Restaurants said Thursday its LongHorn Steakhouse chain posted 7.2% same-store sales growth, far outpacing other brands in its portfolio.

At the same time, executives pointed to "double-digit demand destruction" for beef at retail — a sign consumers are pulling back at grocery stores.

Between the lines: Restaurants have raised prices more slowly than grocery stores in recent years — making steakhouse meals look like a better value than they used to.

"We have given ourselves a lot of flexibility by underpricing inflation over several years," Darden CFO Raj Vennam said. At LongHorn, the company has "significantly underpriced beef costs versus the grocery store over time," helping drive traffic. The result: the price gap between a steak at home and at a restaurant has narrowed, shifting where consumers choose to splurge.

The intrigue: Steak has gotten so expensive that consumers are turning to restaurants for risk management, Darden CEO Rick Cardenas suggested.

"When a consumer has to cook a very expensive steak at home and they mess it up, they still have to eat it," he said. "When a consumer goes to a restaurant … and we mess it up, we eat it — and they still eat a great steak."

Zoom out: Darden is serving both sides of the consumer — and leaning on wealthier diners.

The company said its strongest growth is coming from households earning more than $150,000. Its steakhouses are capturing higher-income consumers willing to spend on premium meals. At Olive Garden, it's leaning into value — rolling out a "lighter portion" menu with dishes under $15 to boost frequency and affordability.

The bottom line: When steak becomes too expensive to risk at home, more Americans are deciding it's worth paying someone else to get it right. More from Axios:

USPS cash warning collides with Amazon pullback Veggie price spike not expected to last long Macy's turnaround hits "inflection point" — by getting smaller