September 2022 Volume 21 | Issue 9
Restaurant owners feel pinch of food inflation By Laura Kostad
for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
Inside
Parade of Homes Magazine
Education & Training
Math enthusiasts hope to multiply their ranks Page A23
Real Estate & Construction
National used car chain expanding to the Tri-Cities Page B1
NOTEWORTHY “The stakes are high for the futures of our young people. They are also high for the economy of the greater Tri-Cities.” - D. Patrick Jones
Page A29
Price inflation has spiraled upward in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fallout from lockdowns compounded over the intervening months with the effects of other unexpected events on the world stage is leading to shortages and subsequent price hikes. Though inflation is felt by everyone across all sectors, perhaps nowhere does it hit harder than at the register for what directly sustains a person: food. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food was 10.9% higher in July 2022 compared to July 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Price Outlook for 2022-23. The report provides figures for “food-athome”– purchased from a grocery store or supermarket – and “food-away-from-home” bought from restaurants. Food-at-home is up 13.1% over July 2021, while food-away-from-home is up 7.6% over the same period. The annual inflation rate for the U.S. from July 2021 to July 2022 was 8.5% overall. For 2023, prices are expected to climb an additional 2% to 3% for food-at-home and 3% to 4% for food-away-from-home. As Susanne Ayala, owner of Ciao Wagon food truck, Ciao Trattoria and Ciao Catering in Pasco, said that although consumers might be paying 7.6% more for food-away-from-home, the figures are more inflated in restaurant owners’ account books. “(Our prices are) still way below what (they) should be because what’s out in the media is not keeping up with the true rate of inflation,” she said. “The things that drive our industry – proteins, dairy, fuel – all those things are individually seeing higher increases … and consumers are expecting (an 8.5%) increase,” she said. Restaurant food is not only a synthesis of inuFOOD INFLATION, Page A4
Photo by Wendy Culverwell Rob Welch, left, and David Rose, both ex-Richland mayors as well as business owners, are restarting the Richland Chamber of Commerce. The original merged with the Kennewick Chamber of Commerce in 2005 to form the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Ex-Richland mayors revive the chamber of commerce By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
A pair of Richland business owners and former mayors is reviving the Richland Chamber of Commerce to restore the local connection between business and city hall. The Richland and the Kennewick chambers merged in 2005 to form the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, a move calculated to give the Mid-Columbia’s business community a bigger voice at the state level. The regional chamber fills a need, but the consolidation left a void in hyper local networking, according to David Rose and
Rob Welch, the two men driving the effort. They say they miss the opportunity to network with fellow business owners, to know city leaders by name and to hear from city staff about what’s happening in the community. Most cities, large and small, have chambers. Richland needs one, they say. There are more than 200 individual chambers in Washington state. “We want the mom-and-pop business owner to know who the fire chief is,” said Welch, who owns a heating and air conditioning business. uRICHLAND CHAMBER, Page A5
WorkSource: where employers and job seekers connect By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
The flyers were printed and posted online and anywhere prospective workers might be found. “Job Fair,” it read, against a red background matching the logo of Miramar Health Center, which was hosting the fair. Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, which operates the clinic near Kennewick’s Vista Field, was not coy about its need for staffers. The clinic is hiring at all levels. Job seekers would be interviewed on the spot and potentially get job offers there too. Being bilingual was a plus. The clinic opened about a year ago and
wants to expand. It needs nurses, medical technicians, IT workers and maintenance staff. Recruiters Maria Zuniga and Tony Jiminez sat at a table by the entrance, company swag spread out before them at the Sept. 6 job fair. At the next table, Carya Baer and Ruby Aleman from WorkSource Columbia Basin sat behind a bank of laptops, a visible link to the job agency’s vast network of resources for both job seekers and employers. Candidates were slow to come in, but the recruiters were unconcerned. “Even if just one person shows up, that’s a success,” Zuniga said. uWORKSOURCE, Page A37
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