Restaurant furniture prices rose 52.4% in the ten years to September 2026, three-quarters of it from 2020 to 2022

If a contract or a capital plan escalates furniture costs by an index, name it by its full title and series code. "Producer Price Index for public furniture (bar, bowling center, cafeteria and restaurant), PCU3371273371278" and "Producer Price Index for institutional furniture manufacturing, PCU337127337127" gave different answers over the decade, 52.4% against 69.1%. A stepped index can show no change for most of a year and then jump, so measuring from one month to a single month a year later can land before or after a step. Ask the vendor which index and which months they would use, and have your contract counsel review the wording.

For a budget, compare a dealer's proposed increase with the index over the same months. As a worked example in round numbers, a restaurant patio package priced at $100,000 in September 2025 and repriced to follow the restaurant furniture index would come to about $104,300 in September 2026, since the index rose 4.3% over that year. A proposed increase of 10% on the same order would be more than twice what the index shows. The difference may come from freight, duty or materials, which this index leaves out, so ask the dealer to break the increase down. The tariff guide covers duties on imported seats and tables, and the September 2026 article on institutional furniture prices covers steel and aluminum prices over the last two years.