The optics to the average person are "I'm getting ripped off right after prices already went up way too much with inflation". What you're talking about is the reality.
That's because the same companies who have been jacking up prices for no reason sure as hell aren't looking to do us any favors now. They'll use this to extract as much money from us as they can think they can get away and if we complain about their prices they will blame us for not rearranging our lives to match their random schedules.
So prices going up means they must be getting increased pay (because the restaurant business is so low profit margin).
sorry, is this sarcasm?
edit: to clarify, there must be assumptions to see price hikes as benefitting the bottom. even to view meager increases as improvement is disingenuous if what goes down is a fraction of what goes up.