Key takeaways:
- ‘Unfortunately, it’s all feeding down into the buyer’s bottom line,’ says owner Michelle LeBlanc.
- Restaurant owners in St. John’s say there are new challenges after making it through almost two years of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The restaurant enterprise may be gradually returning to routine after almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, business owners — packed by lockdowns and capacity rules — now find the rapidly rising supplies costs consuming away at their bottom line.
Amy Anthony, owner of the Nook and Cannery in St. John’s, said Monday, one staple, in particular, stands out in the enterprise.
“The usual suspects keep increasing in cost, but I think the most significant one for most of us over a few months is the canola oil prices,” said Anthony.
“This time prior year, we were looking at under $20 for 16 liters of it, and now we’re at $54.97, I believe.”
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Michelle LeBlanc, co-owner of Chinched Restaurant and Deli in St. John’s, states cooking oil and propane are two costs that have grown faster than others — but prices have increased for everything, which means she’s had to raise her business’s expenses.
“We haven’t had many cost increases before now and unfortunately have had to raise everything on a scale over the previous four to six months,” she said. “It all cuts into the bottom line.”
Chinched, said LeBlanc, is in the unusual position of having a separate deli from the restaurant — it sells products wholesale to other hotels. But even on the deli side, LeBlanc stated, the cost of packaging is increasing as well, meaning the expenses she charges her clients rise, and in turn, the prices her customers charge their clientele go up.
“Unfortunately, it’s all feeding down into the buyer’s bottom line. We’re all feeling it at home as much as at work,” she stated.
Source – cbc.ca
