Jeff Good, co-owner of “Sal and Mookies” in Mississippi, on how inflation is affecting his business and how his business is growing
Mississippi restaurant Soaring inflation makes it “hard to do our business” now, bosses said on Friday because restaurateur We are dealing with a “perfect storm”.
Jeff Good, who co-founded three restaurants in Jackson, Mississippi, noted that he was forced to charge $27 for chicken wings when the actual cost was $34.
“We’re making a profit, we’re just not making a profit based on the math of how restaurants price their items,” Goode told “Fox and friends first“Friday.” It’s expensive.
He noted that many projects are “continuously rising,” but “fortunately, there are some dips at times” and he gets a little break.
“But now we have a bit of a perfect storm of demand, scarcity, war in Ukraine, bird flu, supply chain, and it’s hard for us to do our business,” he added.
Inflation surged 8.3% in April, hovering near 40-year high
About 18 months ago, a 40-pound box of chicken wings sold for about $85, but now, the price can be as high as about $150, The Orange County Chronicle reports.
Goode also reportedly said the cost of cooking oil and flour had nearly doubled in the past five months, noting that he also paid more for labor.
The outlet reports that the company that maintains its air conditioners has charged $40 per visit for fuel. In response to all the price increases, Goode said he was forced to raise menu prices, according to reports.
Soaring inflation is making it “hard to do our business” right now, as restaurateurs face a “perfect storm,” said a Mississippi restaurant owner. (iStock / iStock)
Goode, who has been in the restaurant business for 30 years, told “Fox & Friends First” on Friday that he had never seen anything like it before.
He noted that he has experienced “seasonal issues” in the past.
“You might have a drought that causes problems with romaine lettuce or field greens from California’s Salinas Valley. You might see something on the orange crop in Florida,” explains Goode.
“But having something as universal and global as this is really unheard of.”
He went on to say that because of the current situation, “We’re doing everything we can to make the decisive decision, very frugal, but we’re also very grateful that our customers really understand that.”
“I think since everybody goes to the grocery store, everybody goes to the gas, they can see that everything is expensive,” Goode continued.
Connell McShane of FOX Business spoke to farmers in North Carolina who said the increased input costs were not “sustainable.”
Earlier this month, there was news that inflation cool down April rose more than expected for the first time on a yearly basis, as supply chain constraints, Russia’s war in Ukraine and strong consumer demand continued to keep consumer prices near a near four-year high.
The Labor Department said earlier this month that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday items such as gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 8.3% in April from a year earlier, down from a record 8.5% year-over-year gain. March. Prices rose 0.3% in the month from March.
Those figures were above the 8.1% overall and 0.2% monthly growth forecast by economists at Refinitiv.
Inflation eased slightly last month as energy prices fell 2.7%, driven by a 6.1% drop in gasoline prices (which climbed a staggering 18.3% last month due to the Russia-Ukraine war).
Stew Leonard, president and CEO of Stew Leonard, said every supplier is talking about fuel prices.
Still, prices rose broadly: Food prices rose 1% this month, the 17th straight month of gains for the index. The largest monthly increases were in dairy products (2.5%, the largest monthly increase since 2007), meat, poultry, fish and eggs (1.4%), and cereals and bakery products (1.1%).
On Friday, the national average for a gallon of gasoline was $4.59, A slight increase from the previous day record high.
Thursday’s record was 16 cents higher than the previous week, nearly 50 cents higher than the previous month and $1.55 higher than a year earlier.
According to AAA, tight supply and increased demand have pushed up natural gas prices.
“Because restaurants have to adjust prices,” Goode said. “I think consumers are actually kind and we appreciate that because we’re just trying to do what we can.”
