(https://www.marketwatch.com/story/high-gas-prices-soak-up-more-retail-sales-dollars-and-restaurants-are-paying-the-bill-4255057c?mod=mw_rss_topstories) are siphoning dollars from discretionary spending, and restaurants are the canary. But here's what matters: it's not just frequency compression. When middle-income households face energy cost shocks, they trade DOWN the restaurant ladder—quick-service eats into casual dining, value menus eat into entrees.

Research these companies