Few things upset me more than overpriced food, and State College, Pennsylvania’s businesses are starting to push my buttons.

I’ve visited Doggie’s Pub every Thursday this semester, and no matter how much chicken and rice I eat before going out, I always have room for exactly two slices of Doggie’s Pizza.

Financially, it hasn’t been a bad decision; I wait until 9 p.m. for the Happy Hour prices, show up to the counter with three $1 bills, and walk away with two slices of greasy pepperoni pizza.

It’s become a staple of my nights out, especially on Thursdays.

However, this past Thursday, Doggie’s pub made a change: from 9 to 11 p.m., two slices of pizza will now cost $4. I was shocked at the counter, holding three $1 bills, though I accepted it because there wasn’t a cover that night.

Now, it may only be $1, but that’s a 33% increase in price — insane! That’s like if Pickles’ all-day, every-day pitchers of Busch Light cost $6.65 instead of the classic $5. It just doesn’t hit the same.

Additionally, my $12.75 bucket of four 16-ounce Bud Lights is now $13.50, which is not nearly as big a deal, but it’s the principle that counts in my eyes.

Now, Doggie’s has made other changes that I think contribute to the higher prices. The pub will now reportedly feature a new bar underneath the apartment building it’s attached to. The more bars, the merrier.

But let’s be real, most of Doggie’s customers are college kids who have already shredded through a few hundred dollars in the first four weeks — there is no reason to raise the price of your staple late-night food item. It’s a bad look.

Doggie’s Pub isn’t the only guilty business, though. Debatably the best cheesesteak in State College got worse when they jacked up the price of their staple food.

Uncle John’s Jawns, a pop-up cheesesteak shop outside Antifragile Brewing Co., raised the price of its already small cheesesteak from $16 to $18.

Ironically, the cheesesteak shop posted in July 2025 that $16 means exactly $16.

“We’re not here to nickel and dime you. We’re here to feed you right. Because let’s be real—if you’re dropping sixteen bucks, you should be getting more steak, not more fine print,” Uncle John’s Jawns said in a caption for an Instagram post.

And although the obviously ChatGPT-written caption might have said the opposite, I’m starting to feel a little nickel-and-dimed by these late-night bite icons of Calder Way.

You might be thinking, “Sure, it’s just a dollar here, three dollars there for some solid food,” but if we, the consumers, accept it now, where will they draw the line in the future? What’s next? Two-dollar vodka soda night? Five-dollar quad wells?

I’m not sure if there is a solution to this problem, but as I see it, silence is compliance.