Restaurants feeling the pinch, taking the hit as inflation hikes costs

Article content

Von Agioritis said his Trifon’s Pizza restaurants have had to raise their prices over the last year, due to the rising costs of everything like the price of food, rising wages and taxes.

Article content

The cost increases have been noticed across the board, the president of the Saskatchewan pizza chain said, adding the price of mozzarella cheese was hiked twice in 2022 and went up again in February.

Article content

“There’s only so much they can take for price increases so you end up just swallowing most of the increases for as long as you can,” Agioritis said Wednesday.

“Which cuts into the profits of any restaurant. It doesn’t matter if you’re the Earls of the world or the Tim Horton’s of the world. We’re all in the same boat, facing the same pressures.”

Agioritis said the costs of mozzarella have risen about 14 per cent over the last year. There have been times where a case of tomatoes has cost the biz about $80 or $52 for a case of romaine lettuce, he said.

Article content

“There’s only so much restaurants can really absorb with everything going up,” Agioritis said Wednesday. “Some of these food costs items are changing monthly. The price of gas, the price of oil, every time it changes, it seems, so do our costs.”

The cost of inflation has also compounded prior problems like getting customers back in the dining rooms because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people opt for takeout and delivery.

Agioritis understands the customers, too, only have so much money to spend, and they’re also dealing with the pressure of inflation and shrink-flation. Regulars who would maybe patronize a Trifon’s location three or more times a week are dropping by less frequently, cutting back to once a week or less.

Article content

The rising costs have also had an effect on the menu prices at Fresh & Sweet, a baked goods restaurant and caterer downtown near City Hall. Prices rose over the summer due to economic inflation, and another rise in prices may come.

“When we change our prices, we do of course get some of that pushback but most people are pretty understanding,” Cydney Wawia, restaurant manager, said Wednesday.

“They’re seeing it on their own grocery bills and taking that into account when they’re coming,” Wawia said, adding it can be a frustrating process.

Wawia said the impact of the inflation has been blunted by dealing with food wholesalers who are looking to price match but there are times, such as a last minute catering job, a trip to the grocery store is sometimes necessary.

Article content

When a last minute catering order comes in, there isn’t always time to reach out to a wholesaler. When they are able to reach out to a wholesaler, sometimes there’s not enough time to fill the order if it’s a large one.

“So, we do occasionally have to head out to the grocery stores and some of the pricing there, produce can be a little pricey,” Wawia said.

Both Agioritis and Wawia said they haven’t had to shrink serving sizes.

crmartell@postmedia.com

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.