Restaurant owners in Timmins face rising food costs
Restaurants in Timmins are doing what they can to keep the doors open as food and production costs continue to rise.
Two owners said rising costs are a big problem as they try to keep their respective businesses going during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Casey's Grill and Bar in Timmins has been serving customers for thirty-eight years. It’s owner said she's never seen food prices climb like they have since the onset of the pandemic.
Now, Sylvia Reid is struggling on what decisions to make.
“We haven’t raised our prices here in seven years. So now with the cost and everything on produce and meat. It’s hard with these times. So, how do you put up your prices now,” said Reid
“And we were also looking to revamp our menu, and it’s so hard cause you never know from week-to-week what you’re going to receive and what you’re not going to receive."
She said other owners have told her they're considering taking Cesar salad off menus. Her kitchen manager, Todd Fountain, said the price of lettuce has more than doubled in a year.
“Most of our produce is American right now and like Sylvia said, romaine lettuce is nearing $120 a case for twenty-four heads, and iceberg is even more than that; it’s over $120 a case. I just think they need to figure out the supply chain issues," Fountain said.
At Radical Gardens, owners and staff said they're always trying to come up with new ways to stay afloat.
Owner Brianna Humphrey said costs to give her staff a living wage, and to maintain its eco-friendly standing and high quality menus, -as left her with no choice but to increase prices.
"Cause our blanket cost increase is about three to four per-cent and then on top of that you have anywhere from a three-hundred per cent increase to like an eight per cent increase. We had to do something about this or we weren’t going to be around much longer," said Humphrey.
She said the restaurant industry needs to change as a whole alluding to the issue of staff shortages as a result of people not making a living wage, or receiving food from their places of work, calling it unacceptable.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.