When I think of 9th & 9th, right next to our school, my first thought is a gentrified, overpriced shopping area, but is this true? While it looks quite fancy and has high-quality restaurants, this doesn’t mean it’s significantly more expensive than other places of the same quality. This article will compare and contrast a few restaurants at 9th & 9th with similar restaurants in different neighborhoods, even if they are slightly less trendy. These restaurants might be way cheaper or equally expensive; let’s start comparing!

Let’s start with Pizza Nono. Pizza Nono is a pizza place respected for high-quality personal-size pizzas. These pizzas are small, being only 9 inches, but are all made with high-quality ingredients and fresh in their in-store oven. Some students enjoy this restaurant, Mina Granger says that the “pizza is good and the environment is nice to be in.” On their Squarespace, one Sausage Pepper pizza costs $16. This comes out to 64 in2 of pizza, which is roughly 25¢ per in2. Some people think that this is steep, and Dylan O. from Yelp very much agrees: “$19 for a personal pie. Not going to lie, pizza was decent. Price was outrageous for a 7-inch pie. I'm from NJ/NYC... you wouldn't pay $19 there.” My favorite thing about this review is that the pizzas are 9 inches and that none of their pizzas are $19. Also, the photo above is from Dylan’s review with it being titled: “Vodka” Pizza. Anyways, we will be comparing this to Settebello pizzeria. Settebello is also known for making high-quality, freshly made pizza. Their Vico (Sausage) Pizza is $17, but it is 12 inches. This comes out to 113 in2, which is roughly 10¢ per in2. This shows that Pizza Nono is around double the price.

Second up is Xing Fu Tang. Xing Fu Tang is a world-renowned Taiwanese boba tea maker. Their catchphrase is literally “Taiwan No. 1.” They additionally make all their boba fresh in the store, adding to a high-quality vibe. Their Signature Brown Sugar Milk Tea comes out to $6.75 for a 16oz cup. This makes the price be around 42¢ per oz. As Redditor Inside_Ad_9236 says, “$$$”; some students agree, with Emery Lieberman saying, “The boba is not worth the price, I’d rather get something from Coffee Garden.” This is going to be compared to Kung Fu Tea, another boba place in the Salt Lake area. Their Caramel Milk Tea comes out at $5.55 for 20oz or roughly 28¢ per oz, which means the boba is  1.5 times more expensive at 9th & 9th, starting to show a trend.

Finally, there is Spilled Milk. Spilled Milk calls itself a “Cereal Bar,” which essentially means that it's milkshakes and ice cream that contain cereal, providing a unique twist. They are known for also being high quality and delicious. Bronwyn Andrus says, “I think it’s kinda expensive but it’s quite tasty.” Their Oreo Shake costs $9.75 for a 16oz; this comes out to around 61¢ per oz. Some think this is expensive, especially Sam S. from Yelp: “Honestly, a $2 twist ice cream from Artic Circle would have been better at a fraction of the cost. Spilled Mill was expensive, $16 for two bad ice creams.” We will be comparing this to B&D Burgers. B&D definitely isn’t as fancy, functioning more as a local fast-food restaurant. This doesn’t mean their food isn’t as delicious, just less “high-end.” Their Ultimate Indulgence Oreo (what a name), costs $5.29 for 16oz, making this come out to roughly 33¢ per oz. This means that Spilled Milk is also about double the price.

So, is 9th & 9th overpriced? Objectively, yes. From the restaurants I’ve selected, they have all been around double the price for similar quality local-ish restaurants, making it not the best of deals. However, this doesn’t mean the food isn’t overall high quality, well made, and delicious, but the trendy neighborhood sure does hike up the price.