Rising inflation makes everything feel like it’s sharply gone up in price. However it isn’t just the greater community facing these issues as business owners have also been struggling with drastic increases in cost.
Alfredo Van Nortwick, a representative of LCC food court restaurant Taco Intrusion, has recently noticed a huge price increase for something as simple as chicken thighs which he would normally be able to order for $55 but now has increased by over 60% to a staggering $97 per case. Nortwick had this to say about the recent price increases.
“It’s mainly been going up until recently because gas prices go up so it costs us more to transport goods. That means we gotta charge the customer more. It’s tough, a lot of businesses that have been around for a long time are going out of business.”
It seems to be a matter of how long a place of business can last before things get cheaper and many businesses don’t tend to make it. However in the end everyone has to, as Nortwick states, “buckle down and get through it.” It’s easier said than done however as when the price of transporting goods goes up everything goes up.
Another example comes from Yuen Lee, a representative of Doug’s Place, who has experienced a major shift in the foods they sell. Doug’s is known for their burgers, teriyaki and constantly shifting specials. However, recently Lee has had to simplify the specials and menus due to price increases and decreases. One example being the drastic price of eggs wherein a shipment before the increase would cost $25 however the latest shipment of eggs cost $70.
Restaurants in the city of Eugene are not immune to these problems either. Local vegan diner, Cornbread Cafe, recently announced that they will be buying less organic products because they can’t afford a full organic menu anymore. Since 2010, Cornbread Cafe has used 95% organic items for the meals that they make from scratch. “For our prices to match what we’re actually doing at Cornbread, most of our menu items would need to be in the $20-$25 range,” Sheree Walters, Cornbread Cafe’s owner, stated. She also said that pre-COVID Cornbread Cafe was a full-service diner. They have since switched to a quick service model.
Cornbread Cafe announced their new menu on Instagram. They received over 600 likes and plenty of comments in support of the difficult decision. Sheree has been grateful for the patience and outpouring of support from the community.
“We have had an amazing response from our entire community. Our posts received a ton of positive and very meaningful and encouraging comments. I have been as transparent as possible with our customers since day one, they definitely appreciate it overall. We will never please everyone, and that’s okay. But we will always do our absolute best, even if it takes time to figure out how to do that. We learn, we do better, in every aspect of business and life.”
Overall it seems to be a balancing act for businesses where you must make do of your situation.
