Boston (WBZ Newsroom)  -- It's a sign of the economic times: High gas prices and plummeting consumer confidence are combining to make these bad times for Massachusetts restauranteurs. 

"We're pretty flat...in terms of sales" says Peter Christie at the Mass Restaurant Association, but he tells WBZ Newsradio 1030 that's only part of the story. Food prices that restaurants pay are up by about eight percent from last year. 

Christie says most of the restaurants "have been unable to increase their prices for fear of losing market share." So, that means profit margins are shrinking big time. 

Christie says if you use meal tax receipts as a gauge, January was the worst month for restaurants with business off 2-percent and a loss in profit of about 6-percent. 

Things have been inching up a little but nowhere near enough to offset higher costs. Christie says the situation is bad, but adds he's seen worse.