12 minute read
Food
San Antonio restaurant owners struggle to contend with historic infl ation
BY NINA RANGEL
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Whether picking up weekday breakfast tacos or a special occasion meal at The Pearl complex, San Antonio diners are ge ing hit in the pocketbook as the nation experiences its highest infl ation rates in four decades.
Faced with a historic spike in food costs, Alamo City restaurateurs say they have li le choice but to raise prices. While those increases are most obvious when it comes to items such as meat, dairy and fresh produce, they’re not isolated to those big-ticket items.
“Chicken and ground beef tripled in price, and my to-go packaging and supplies have doubled — and that’s when I can fi nd those packaging supplies. Sometimes there’s nothing on the shelves,” said Steven Pizzini, owner of Southside institution Lala’s Gorditas. “We’re doing our best to keep our prices reasonable, but there comes a point where you are either going to be profi table or you’re not going to be in business anymore. And that’s where a lot of us are at.”
The consumer price index (CPI), an infl ation barometer that measures costs across dozens of items, increased 7% in December from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. That’s the index’s steepest increase since 1982.
The bo om line is that infl ation is aff ecting every aspect of business for San Antonio diners’ favorite restaurants, whether it be chorizo, ribeye, to-go packaging, labor, rent or utilities. The specifi c CPI category for “food away from home” is up nearly 6% over the past year.
Several San Antonio restaurant owners said they’re apprehensive about pushing rising costs onto their guests. At the same time, they don’t know how they’re going to survive if they don’t.
To be sure, local eateries have already shut their doors due to that price pressure. Floresville’s Two Sawers BBQ shut down two weeks ago, for example, its owners telling the Express-News that rising rent and food costs left no choice.
“We’ve been around for 20 years, so we’re so fortunate to have had the time to grow the following we have,” said Hunter Bogar, owner of Northeast San Antonio burger joint Biff Buzby’s. “I fought raising the prices of my menu items for months. I didn’t want to be one of those places charging $15 for a burger. But at some point, something has to give.”
Indeed, two months ago Bogar faced the possibility of closing his 23-year-old business when exploding prices made it nearly impossible for him to maintain his building. Electricians and plumbers, feeling the same supply-chain squeeze, were taking weeks to make repairs because they had to wait on parts.
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Tough choices
San Antonio food businesses interviewed by the Current said their dedication to quality ingredients, while appreciated by customers, has only made the current situation that much harder.
“Every month, I have to fi gure out if this business is going to survive. And it simply comes down to sacrifi cing the quality of my ingredients or raising my prices,” said Meg Morales, a San Antonio pastry chef and owner of Cereal Killer Sweets. “It’s just tough because I built my following on using real bu er, high-quality chocolate, the best ingredients. … I had to let go of all of my employees to be able to provide the same product with just a small increase in price.”
In an early February Facebook post, Morales aired her grievances about paying $160 for a case of bu er — something she’d never paid more than $100 for in the past. Due to declining cow herds, labor shortages and higher packaging costs, December’s average price for Grade AA bu er increased by more than 40% from a year prior, according to federal data.
Both diners and restaurant owners will need to tighten their belts for the long term, economists warn. We’re likely stuck with surging infl ation for months to come.
“I’m an optimistic person, but I’m no Pollyanna,” said Alan Adelman, senior research analyst for San Antonio-based Frost Bank Investment Advisors. “Hopefully COVID-19 is a once-in-a-generation event, but we’re going to be seeing the eff ects of this pandemic on the economy until at least the fourth quarter of this year. We’re still in the middle of it.”
Adelman uses more than 30 years’ experience to advise businesses in investment strategies. The restaurant industry, he says, is in a particularly diffi cult spot as it rides out not just labor and supply shortages but also a post-lockdown demand for dining out.
Nina Rangel
MOwners of SA restaurants including Lala’s Gorditas say food prices are forcing them to make tough calls.
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“People have this pent-up desire to go out to eat, so when your demand is higher than your supply, the equilibrium is upset,” he said. “It’s a situation in which these businesses have to be creative and adaptable at a higher rate than ever before.”
Feeling the pushback
To that end, Cereal Killer Sweets’ Morales now works nearly 70 hours a week to sell her cookies, brownies and rice-cereal treats, primarily using a direct-to-consumer shipping model.
Though customers can pick up their products at her Castle Hills-area storefront, most get them shipped. Often, those customers don’t realize the delivery expenses tack on an additional $15 Morales must off set.
Like Morales, Bogar and Pizzini have raised menu prices over the past four months.
Thankfully, the customer pushback has been minimal. Even so, Bogar said he feels it.
“You have 40% of regulars who understand [the price increases] and don’t make a stink, 30% that understand but don’t much like it and 30% that vow never to come back because of it,” he said. “Sales-wise, we’re the same we were a year and two years ago, but profit-wise, we’re nowhere near where we’re supposed to be, because everything has gone up.”
Pizzini, whose outdoor seating helped his business withstand the pandemic, reported similar experiences with customers. While he hasn’t received many direct complaints, he’s now seeing fewer of those regulars who frequented his business based on its low menu prices.
“If the price of supplies comes down, I think a lot of local small business will lower their prices to refl ect that. We’re not going to be greedy … these are our communities,” he said. “There are just so many other factors that contribute to a $2 increase in a plate that I don’t think consumers realize. Shipping, trucking, labor: it all trickles down, and we’re just trying to stay afl oat throughout all of it.”
Courtesy Photo / Cereal Killer
MSweet shop owner Meg Morales says infl ation is forcing her to evaluate monthly whether her business can survive.
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food
Alt-Valentine’s Day
If the usual range of Feb. 14 dining options are a drag, try these romantic rescues
BY RON BECHTOL
Amateur Night.”
That’s what a longtime waiter at San Antonio’s most venerated restaurants calls the Valentine’s Day dining scene. A tad harsh perhaps, but anyone who’s tried to observe the romantic occasion on the evening of Feb. 14 knows that, starting with ge ing a reservation, it can be a pain in the neck — to put it politely.
So, why subject yourself to wrongfork anxieties or dining-at-fi ve indignities? Here are some suggestions of alternative ways to celebrate a deux. They may have their own challenges, but why not test the relationship early on? And you won’t have to dress up. Unless, of course, you want to.
As an added enticement, Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday this year, so many restaurants are normally closed, which means you might have to celebrate a day earlier or later anyway.
Go Italian American. Think “Lady and the Tramp,” the 1955 Disney classic. Google if necessary, but the scene of the two dogs sharing a single strand of spaghe i will melt the heart of even the most adamant of V-Day deniers. Because such places are often ignored in the food press, it may be worth seeking out a fl at-out red sauce palace like Maggiano’s Li le Italy. You know, where there’s actual spaghe i with meatballs on the menu. Linguini with fresh clams at Southtown’s La Focaccia is another option, as is the possibility of placing a takeout order of mussels marinara to pair with pasta you make at home —especially good for those shy about sharing strands in public.
Asian noodles. Couples in it for the long haul might also consider other noodles. After all, they’re emblematic of longevity at the just-celebrated Asian New Year’s, so they’re probably auspicious for a relationship too. We like the variety, hot or cold, available at Shifu Noodle at McCreless Market or Sichuan House, where variations on the theme of fi ery Dan Dan noodles will put any relationship to the test. Also impressive is the selection at Ming’s on North St. Mary’s Street where sweet potato noodles, rice noodles, egg noodles, mung bean noodles and more represent cultures from all over Asia. Who says you can’t share a shimmering cellophane noodle?
Open up with oysters. It’s often been said that oysters are an aphrodisiac and thus a Valentine’s Day slam dunk. The rooftop se ing of the oyster bar at the Fairmount Hotel only enhances the selection from sources such as Massachuse s and other East Coast points. “Rotating East Coast Oysters” are also the draw at Li le Em’s in King William — not normally open on Monday, but fl exibility is another test of a good relationship. Besides, there’s an available caviar service if a partner is feeling unexpectedly fl ush — and, reducing the pressure, almost everybody’s an amateur when it comes to $120 servings of tiny fi sh eggs. SiloTerrace on Interstate 10 and Southerleigh at the Pearl are other good oyster options.
Pop a cork. Bubbles are never a bad choice, and they’re certain to add luster to any date night. You can go straight for the sparkle at casual places such as downtown’s Esquire Tavern, which offers the opportunity to put your bucks into bubbles — where they count most — all while eating simply but smartly.
Head straight for dessert. If you’re looking for a truly out-of-the-box option, try bypassing the main course altogether. This can be hard to pull off at a regular restaurant, especially on a high-traffi c night, so some running around might be required. But such is the stuff of true love. To make life a little easier, though, it’s probably best to seek out places that can off er a variety of sweets for at-home celebration. One parking place downtown on Broadway should get you both La Boulangerie for French pastries and Shakolad Chocolate Factory. At Pearl, your pairing choice is Bakery Lorraine and to-go ice cream from Lick. Head north on Broadway toward Central Market, and you’ll fi nd Chocollazo and Black & White Modern Creamery in The Boardwalk complex. It’s a bit of a stretch to pair Lily’s Cookies on McCullough Avenue with Paciago Gelato Café on East Basse Road, but the coupling will be worth the extra drive. And in Southtown, it’s a straight-up ice cream orgy with Boozy’s Creamery & Craft and South Alamode Panini & Gelato Co. in Blue Star.
Instagram / Chocollazo
OPENINGS
A San Antonio couple has opened Bright Coffee, a hybrid coff ee shop-dance school in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. 1705 Blanco Road, (956) 592-4517, instagram.com/brightcoff eesa.
The minds behind restaurants Tia’s Tacos and Mr. C’s have opened a new casual bar and grill, Gibby’s Ice House, near the Medical Center. 5018 Research Dr., Suite 104, gibbysicehouse.com.
San Antonio’s fi rst location from the Atlanta-based Rusty Taco is now serving margaritas “made with fresh lime juice and cheap tequila.” 17026 Bulverde Road, rustytaco.com.
A new Instagram-worthy crêpe and coff ee spot — the snappily monikered Kaff einated — is now open at The Rim. 17619 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 209, kaff einated.co.
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Jeremy Aff eldt’s Free Roam Brewing is now open in Boerne. 325 S. Main St., Boerne, freeroambrewing.com.
Buff alo Wild Wings will open two more takeout and delivery-focused GO locations, one in Alamo Heights and another on the West Side. 1235 Austin Highway and 8309 Bandera Road, Suite 2, buff alowildwings.com.
The couple behind Li le Em’s Oyster Bar and Up Scale will next year open Restaurant Claudine, their third SA eatery. 517 E. Grayson St., instagram.com/restaurantclaudine.
Birria truck El Remedio will add three more mobile eateries by end of February, starting with a truck at north SA nightspot Li le Woodrow’s. 9840 W. Loop 1604, facebook.com/ ElRemedioSA.
San Antonio chef Luca Della Casa will open a new, still unnamed spot on the ground fl oor of the Silo location at 434 N. Loop 1604 West.
NEWS
Alamo Biscuit Company will appear on Cooking Channel show Food Paradise Feb.16.
North San Antonio staple The Grill at Leon Springs aims to rebuild after 2021 fi re.
San Antonio’s sole Max’s Wine Dive location has closed unexpectedly.
The 12th Annual Paella Challenge will return to the city’s South Side on March 20.
In the heart of the San Antonio Riverwalk, El Camino is a beacon for the downtown community to join and enjoy a range of selections from our guest gourmet food trucks paired with precisely created cocktails.
El Camino is the perfect spot to bring together friends, family and furry companions under our eco-consciously designed covered seating with a fully stocked bar that includes, frozen drinks, craft brews, and top-shelf cocktails.
