Let's go through it

...I understand how you could get there.,,,

Yes stealing

Prices have swung so wildly in the US in 2025 it’s basically unmanageable without a dedicated team.

Like a calculator and a spreadsheet?

You can either try to recalculate all of that every week or two based on tariffs, inflation, bird flu, etc… then reprint and spiral bind 50 to 100, 11-page menus (technically 6 laminated front and back).

You don't actually do this. Nobody does this. What a sandwich costs isn't exact cost + a certain number of pennies its what people in the area are willing to pay for a sandwich. Cost is a floor and what planet earth does in case of uncertainty is build in a cushion. It is what everyone is obviously doing.

Or you can try to guestimate a number you think you and your customers can live with and distribute your gains and losses across the whole menu and reprint one page with a fee (hopefully) once.

Everyone is guestimating all the time in small business and they do so by setting the actual price to a higher figure. If you want to do so across the board you do so by literally making that the new menu price. The entire reason not to is to gain additional business because your business looks cheaper on its face by dishonestly marking it a separate fee. There is no justification other than dishonesty for making it a separate fee and it should be illegal.

I’d personally weigh whether I think this place and the people who run it are maliciously trying to exploit me

Increasing the price whilst printing a lie on the menu board is always maliciously exploiting you. This is like you asking if keeping the box the same size and putting at first 10 20 and ultimately 33% less shit in the box was maliciously exploiting you.. Are you that fuckin dense?

You are making excuses < ME

But I did address the nice round number thing. Very directly. I also absolutely did not make an excuse for it

Literally you are sitting here explaining why they somehow need to exploit you

Examine the argument.. Turn it sideways... Shove it where the sun doesn't shine. You ARE obviously making excuses. There is no complexity to it.