‘Either I do this or I close my doors.’ How Fresno restaurants are coping with inflation
Have you noticed restaurants adding boneless wings or chicken thighs to their menus? Or maybe that your favorite dish made with avocado isn’t on the menu anymore?
As the cost of food and other restaurant supplies skyrockets, Fresno restaurants are getting creative with how they cope with the increased cost of doing business.
Some of that is trickling down to what you see as a consumer when dining out, especially on menus. Restaurants often don’t advertise these changes, but a keen eye might spot some.
Prices that restaurants pay have shot up on everything from eggs and beef, to fresh vegetables, even fryer oil and Styrofoam takeout containers.
Several factors are to blame, including supply issues, rising wages and increased demand as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The war in Ukraine also is pushing up prices on fuel used to deliver these goods, along with grains exported from the region.
Yes, restaurants are increasing prices on the entrees you order at the table. Average menu prices rose 6.9% from March of 2021 to March of this year – the biggest 12-month increase since 1981.
But they can’t pass along all those increases or it would drive customers away, noted Raul Gutierrez Jr., owner of Papi’s Mex Grill and president of the Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association.
So instead, they find other ways to cut costs, including changing the menu or cutting back on staff.
Chicken wings and avocados
There was a chicken wing shortage last year and into this year. Supply was down and traditional chicken wings with bones got really expensive.
Boneless wings, usually made from breast meat, were more affordable. Since chickens only have two wings, but more breast meat, the bigger availability kept the prices down.
So a lot of restaurants, like Wingstop and Applebee’s, turned to promoting boneless wings.
“A lot of restaurants have just stayed with the boneless because it’s much cheaper. You can take any part of that bird – basically dark meat and white meat – and create a boneless piece,” Gutierrez said.
The customer pays the same price, but the restaurant makes more profit off the boneless, he noted.
The owner of Pacific Fried Chicken Company, which opened in August at Butler and Chestnut avenues, almost took bone-in wings off his menu.
But the price of traditional wings has dropped enough that he’s continuing to offer both. It’s now “barely affordable” as long as his customers buy about half boneless and half traditional.
Chicken thighs have been showing up on menus for similar reasons. Last summer, Wingstop went so far as to launch Thighstop, a virtual brand delivering out of its regular Wingstop locations focusing on chicken thighs.
Avocados are no longer anywhere on the menu at Vino Grille & Spirits in northeast Fresno.
Between rising prices and getting “terrible” overripe avocados, they decided to remove them from the turkey burger and other dishes and reprint the menu, said owner Chuck Van Fleet.
“We’ve been changing the menu a little more frequently right now just (based) on products that we can get,” he said.
While it’s easy to swap out a filet for a New York steak when prices dictate it, some things are harder to cut.
Lime prices have skyrocketed due to drought in Mexico, citrus disease and price gouging by Mexican drug cartels. And fryer oil – used to fry everything from french fries to the chicken in the chicken salad wrap – rose from $25 to $55, a price they pay three times a week.
But Van Fleet doesn’t want to stop using fresh lime juice in their craft cocktails. And he doesn’t want to stop changing the fryer oil three times a week.
So some of the increased expenses will come out of their profit. They’ll also make adjustments elsewhere, frequently tinkering with and reprinting the menu.
Pacific Fried Chicken, for example, shrunk the size of its sides and switched to less expensive cheese and butter brands that don’t affect quality.
Restaurants are constantly pivoting, noted Gutierrez.
“A lot of times we try to promote other products,” he said. “If beef gets really high, we try to promote chicken and pork.”
Menu prices climbing
Of course, restaurants are still having to pass costs along to customers. Prices are rising, often by a dollar or two per entree.
“It’s either I do this or I close my doors,” said Pacific Fried Chicken owner Long Nguyen.
He has already laid off two employees, deciding to work longer hours in the restaurant himself.
“We don’t feel good about raising prices,” he said. “As people who run restaurants, we want to offer good food at a really decent price. It definitely does not feel good to charge $10 for a four-piece wing box.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 8:20 AM.
