What's the Mark Up?

I just finished reading an interesting article about Drew Nieporent, a resaurant owner who's operated high-end eateries in both New York and San Francisco. Really, the interview didn't have much to do with wine, but the bit that did I found to be very eye-opening. On the whole, the piece works as a sort of compare and contrast, discussing the major differences between keeping a restaurant afloat on either of the coasts.

For instance, rent is cheaper in Tribeca and staff wages are lower than in San Francisco, and the people tend to eat a lot earlier on the West Coast. The portion of the article that's applicapble to us here at the wine blog is the major difference between Mark-up on a bottle of wine in the two cities.

"Wine costs about the same on both coasts," said Nierporent. "But he couldn't mark bottles up as much as in New York; being close to the Wine Country breeds expectations of lower prices."