A restaurateur in the San Francisco Bay Area recently decided to shut down both locations of her sandwich shop after facing backlash from a viral Reddit post that mocked her menu prices, which included a $34 offering for steak and eggs and a $22 grilled cheese sandwich. Kendra Colling, who founded The Farmer’s Wife, shared with SFGATE that the prevailing economic conditions were challenging enough, but the viral ridicule made things worse.
This all kicked off after a Reddit user shared images of her menu on the r/bayarea subreddit with the caption “LOL over sandwich prices.” The post drew attention for its large photos and peculiar pricing at her Marin County locations, which are situated just north of San Francisco.
Amid humorous commentary, one user quipped about the absurdity of paying $10 for cheese and bread in what they described as a “dystopian sandwich shop.” Others couldn’t help but compare the high prices to starting their own grilled cheese stands for far less. Comments highlighted other notable prices, such as a $34 sandwich featuring beef tenderloin and a $32 hot pastrami that came piled high with Swiss cheese and pickles.
As the online conversation continued, jokes escalated, with one person suggesting financing options for a pastrami order and another making light of the high costs. The thread eventually turned into a platform for negative sentiments, resulting in an influx of one-star reviews on platforms like Yelp and Google, which Colling described as “review bombing.” This sudden wave of criticism ultimately affected customer traffic and visibility, compounding the shop’s financial challenges.
Colling expressed her hurt over the harshness of some comments, stating, “They called me the meanest things, like I was more than a sandwich.” Following this backlash, she closed the Sebastopol location in September and later the other site in Wine Country as well, citing rising costs and dwindling foot traffic as reasons for her decision, all while dealing with the fallout from the viral post.
The other remaining store in Point Reyes also eventually closed this month, marking the end of The Farmer’s Wife’s physical presence. Colling described her closure as a consequence of the online negativity coupled with financial strains and her own burnout after years of operating the business.
Running a small business in the Bay Area doesn’t come cheap, with some of the highest commercial rents and labor costs in the nation. Although not classified as fast food, The Farmer’s Wife was indirectly affected by California’s minimum wage increases, which put further pressure on profit margins. Additionally, the restaurant’s focus on farm-sourced ingredients contributed to high operational costs in an area where grocery prices have surged nearly 27% over the past five years.
To add to the challenges, simple menu items were priced like gourmet dishes—a smashburger and shepherd’s pie both at $30, while a basic seasonal salad started at $20 but could rise to $26 for a more elaborate version, pushing the total bill well above $30 with tax and tip.
