Grocery prices rose at the fastest pace in three years last month, keeping pressure on household budgets even as overall inflation held steady.

Why it matters: Broad inflation relief is little consolation for Americans if they aren't seeing it reflected in grocery bills.

By the numbers: Grocery prices rose 0.7% from November to December, the largest monthly gain since the peak inflation period in August 2022.

• Food inflation was evident at restaurants, too: Costs for dining out rose by a similar amount, the largest monthly gain in three years.

The intrigue: Grocery prices were up roughly 2.4% in December compared to the prior year.

• But that masks double-digit price increases for a slew of household staples over the past 12 months, including coffee (+20%), beef (+16%) and candy (+10%).
• President Trump rolled back tariffs on many household staples late last year. Among them: bananas, which saw prices fall by almost 2% in December. But costs are still up roughly 6% compared to the prior year.
• There is some relief elsewhere in the grocery store: Egg prices, for instance, are down more than 20% from a year ago, with an 8% decline in December alone.

Zoom in: New Orleans shoppers are entering 2026 with reshuffled grocery store options after Robért Fresh Market bought Langenstein's and Southeastern Grocers is offloading all its Winn-Dixie stores in the state.

• Ten of those are transforming into Rouses Markets.
• But a large number are also becoming Aldi stores as the discount grocer capitalizes on consumer hunger for less expensive goods.
• Aldi plans 180 store openings nationwide this year, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.

Go deeper: As grocery prices rise, so do bean sales

If it feels like you're seeing more chain restaurant openings and fewer independents, you're not wrong, according to Technomic food industry researcher Kevin Schimpf.

The big picture: The number of independent restaurants has been on the decline since the pandemic, Schimpf says, "while the overall footprint of chain restaurants has grown."

• Some key players in that space, like Jersey Mike's, Wingstop, Domino's and Chipotle, which just opened a new Freret Street restaurant, are pushing for growth, he notes.
• That's even despite a general slump for casual dining as consumers become more price-conscious.

Between the lines: It's harder for independently-owned businesses to weather not only those economic shifts but rising rents and costs for restaurants.

• One way to measure that in New Orleans is that the city had a relatively low year-over-year restaurant survival rate between fall 2024 and 2025.

By the numbers: The New Orleans metro is still home to fewer-than-average chain restaurants, according to Technomic.

• Industry data shows that about 32% of restaurants here are chains, compared to the national average of 38%, Schimpf says.

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📚 Sen. John Kennedy's book, "How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will," has quietly been among the New York Times' top 10 bestselling books for 13 weeks. (New York Times gift link)

🤳🏼 The Moreno administration is locked out of the city's social media accounts. (Press release)

🇬🇱 Awkward! Gov. Jeff Landry's invite to a Greenland dog sledding competition was revoked as President Trump's rhetoric on taking over the Arctic nation ramps up. (USA Today)

• Meanwhile on the home front, Landry said yesterday that the Louisiana Department of Government Efficiency identified nearly $1 billion in savings opportunities for the state. (WBRZ)

🕺 Jazz Fest dropped its daily lineups yesterday. T-Pain and Alabama Shakes? We're delighted. See lineups.

🏀 Former college basketball players at UNO, Nicholls State, Tulane and Northwestern State are among 20 charged with conspiracy to bribe and manipulate games. (The Athletic)

👀 An ICE raid on the Richland Parish's under-construction Meta data center resulted in two arrests, highlighting the tension between different Trump priorities. (Axios)

It could snow in Louisiana this weekend, nearly a year after a historic snowstorm dropped about a foot of snow on us.

The big picture: New Orleans has a 23% chance of snow tomorrow night, says Mike Efferson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Slidell.

• Big difference this year from last: It's going to be too warm for anything to stick, so ice won't be a problem on roads.

What they're watching: A strong cold front pushes through Saturday.

• Temperatures will be near or below freezing overnight.
• One possible weather scenario has moisture mixing with freezing temps, resulting in snow. Another keeps the rain further south over the Gulf.

Timing: If it does snow, it will most likely be between midnight and 4am Sunday, Efferson says.

• It would be a mix of rain, sleet and snow flurries.

The bottom line: Stay weather aware this weekend.

Full forecast

Construction is underway at the long-blighted Touro Shakspeare Home in Algiers as the city-owned property transforms once again into affordable housing for the elderly.

Why it matters: Empty and crumbling since Hurricane Katrina, the project signals reinvestment in the West Bank neighborhood.

• "The city of New Orleans hasn't forgotten about you," Councilman Freddie King III said at a groundbreaking yesterday.

What's next: The renovation will transform the historic site over the next year into a 52-unit senior apartment community, according to developer HRI Communities.

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