The average hamburger in Colorado now costs $15. Here’s how that price breaks down.

 Over at a Denver-area Red Robin restaurant, the Keep It Simple burger costs $13.49, or nearly $15 with tax. 

That’s up 31% in a little more than three years, based on old menus posted at restaurant review site, Yelp.com, showing the same no-frills burger at $10.29 in May 2020.

It’s not just Red Robin. A lot of burger joints are getting unwanted attention because of their higher prices, with some consumers sharing their shock on social media. It’s also not just burgers. The cost of eating out at a restaurant in Colorado has increased 28.2% since January 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Menu prices have gone up at most Colorado eateries, and restaurant owners don’t really like to talk about it. 

...The Colorado Restaurant Association & Foundation gets a lot more specific. Earlier this year, the industry group, which has 4,900 member restaurants, put together its own guide to why the price of an average burger has increased to $15.

Restaurants have seen an increase of 54% in the cost of labor, 55% for utilities and 20% for equipment and maintenance. The price of beef? Up 43%. Cheese? Up 79%. And lettuce? Up 85%...more