Cleveland's annual Restaurant Week comes at a time when many independent restaurants say they've hit a pricing ceiling.

Why it matters: Survival tactics of the past few years — higher prices and delivery expansion — are losing effectiveness, leading operators to reset the math.

That rings true for Ohio restaurants, many of which are operating on increasingly thin margins.

• "We ask people to be thoughtful about their reactions to the prices they see in restaurants," says John Barker, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance.
• "It's not price gouging. They're trying to survive."

Between the lines: Restaurants that raised prices more than 10% in 2025 were most likely to report lower profits — down from a 15% threshold in last year's report.

• "There's just not a lot of elasticity left," Anne McBride, VP of impact at the James Beard Foundation, the nonprofit behind the James Beard Awards, told Axios.

Zoom out: Even as pricing power weakens, most operators say business conditions improved in 2025.

• Restaurant sales and traffic stabilize, according to the James Beard Foundation's annual industry report.
• A majority reported good or excellent business performance and optimism about 2026.

Yes, but: Cost pressures persist. Labor remains a top concern, with 49% reporting staffing insufficiency.

• The share of operators raising wages 10% or more plunged from 71% to 15% in one year, and 18% didn't raise wages at all.

Delivery isn't providing relief either. Nearly half of operators who added online ordering and delivery reported lower profits.

The intrigue: The rise of nonalcoholic beverages was the top consumer trend cited in the report.

• Alcohol has historically helped offset tight food margins — and when diners drink less, "you don't make up the whole revenue," McBride said.
• Operators also report early effects from GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, with some diners eating and drinking less overall.

Independent restaurants aren't in crisis mode — but the easy fixes are gone.

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Cleveland's gas prices are surging following the U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran and oil market fears of extended geopolitical upheaval.

Why it matters: The increases have an immediate effect on motorists' pocketbooks and their mood about the economy.

By the numbers: Average gas prices in the Cleveland metro area hit $3.43 yesterday, per AAA.

• That's up from $2.84 a month ago.

Zoom out: Cleveland's rate was just below the national average of $3.48.

The big picture: Gas prices spiked dramatically last week following upheaval in the Middle East.

• March 3 was the biggest single-day spike since 2022, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.

Between the lines: Tom Kloza, a longtime oil analyst now working for Gulf Oil, told Axios he expected the national average price to reach as high as $3.50 in the coming weeks.

• That stems from a sudden increase in petroleum prices as traders fear disruption in crude supplies from the Middle East.

The latest: Oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel Sunday for the first time since 2022.

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🎓 Ohio State president Ted Carter Jr. has resigned after disclosing an "inappropriate relationship" to the board of trustees, the university announced yesterday. (Axios)

⚖️ The prosecution has rested its case in the trial of FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling.

• They took testimony from 26 witnesses, including five current or former FirstEnergy executives and attorneys who signed immunity agreements to testify. (Signal Ohio)

🏀 The Cleveland Planning Commission has approved designs for a public, Cavs-themed basketball court to be built on the green space off Huron and Ontario. (Cleveland Scene)

🎶 The Music Box has formed an Employee Ownership Trust, an innovative arrangement that will transfer ownership of the venue to those who work there. (Crain's Cleveland Business 🔐)

Saks Fifth Avenue is closing its Beachwood Place store as part of a nationwide pullback and company-wide restructuring.

Why it matters: Saks has been a retail anchor in the Eastern suburbs since 1978, when Beachwood Place opened with Saks and Higbee's as its flagship department stores.

• It was the first Saks Fifth Avenue in Ohio.

Catch up quick: Saks Global filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

• The company's financial challenges underscore how even luxury department stores aren't immune to the sector's long decline.

The latest: Saks recently announced it will shutter 12 Saks and three Neiman Marcus locations on top of nine store closures announced last month.

• Both the stores at Beachwood Place and Columbus' Polaris Fashion Place are among those on the chopping block.

Flashback: During the celebratory grand opening of Beachwood Place in 1978, Saks' then-board chairman Allan R. Johnson told the Plain Dealer that the store's "pre-opening shopping and traffic" was the largest the brand had ever experienced.

What's next: The location will remain open through May, per Saks.

• For Northeast Ohio shoppers, its closure will mark the end of a nearly five-decade luxury retail era at Beachwood Place.

A giant sinkhole has closed the intersection of West 3rd Street and West St. Clair Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

Why it matters: Sinkholes are terrifying.

The intrigue: No injuries were reported. The cause of the sinkhole remains under investigation, but it nearly swallowed a vehicle when it opened abruptly Sunday morning.

• The 72-year-old driver of the vehicle was able to exit safely, and a tow truck successfully extracted it, per News 5.

What they're saying: Water service was restored to those impacted later Sunday, Cleveland Water Department spokesperson Danielle Miklos tells Axios.

• Crews are assessing the site and will work to remove pieces of the roadway from the hole, Miklos adds.
• There is no currently no timeline for the work's completion.

😲 What we saw: We ventured to the site to snap some photos yesterday morning and couldn't believe the size of it.

• It stretched from the crosswalk into the heart of the intersection along West 3rd, with so many exposed pipes and wires beneath the surface of the street that it looked like a movie set.