Ahmed Abdulkadir was refueling his restaurant without thinking about his shopping list, but now simply stopping at the store is painful.
Prices for basic products from rice to cooking oil skyrocketed, leaving the restaurateur to stand in the aisle of groceries and wonder, “Okay, do I need this?”
“I’m in pain,” he said Wednesday morning.
“It literally hurts to go to the store knowing you spend $ 1,500 a day. It hurts and that’s a reality.”
Abdulkadir is far from alone. Ottawa restaurant owners said rising food costs are forcing them to tighten their belts, reduce portion sizes and weigh whether to pass on a percentage of the increase to customers.
Canadian statistics reported last month that Canadians paid 9.7% more for food in April 2022, compared to the same month last year.
Basic products such as fresh fruit have jumped 10 percent, while pasta prices have risen nearly 20 percent.
Canadian statistics point to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with rising fuel costs and bad weather in some growth areas.
“The price? It’s killing us now, especially Thai food and everything comes from abroad,” said Bunom Sufilavong, who runs the Thai Flame Restaurant at Bells Corners with his wife and her sister.
A box of coconut milk cost $ 38. It’s $ 75 now, he said. Shrimp once cost $ 28 per pack. It’s $ 41 now.
Bounnom Souphilavong said the jump in food costs prompted his family to consider raising prices at the Thai Flame Restaurant in Bells Corners. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
They have seen a similar jump in the price of cooking oil, from $ 20 for a 16-liter jug to $ 40 now, according to Souphilavong.
His family is considering how best to handle the challenge. Souphilavong said they were looking to raise prices or reduce the amount of food, but was quick to say that serving less for more would make them feel bad.
Lobster Putin reduced
At Petit Bill’s Bistro in Ottawa’s Wellington West, the much-loved lobster breakfast has been reduced.
One portion is now about 60% of its previous size, said co-owner Terry Fitzpatrick. The mixture of french fries, mascarpone sauce and mussels is now an appetizer, not a main dish.
Fitzpatrick estimates that he has recently paid 15 to 20 percent more for food, calling it “much of the change.”
“I’m traveling around the city to find the best price I can for butter,” he said, adding that the restaurant turned to Costco for its constant prices. “I just ordered it two years ago.”
Customers were “kind and generous,” Fitzpatrick said. But the way things are going, he predicts that the menus may look different in the near future.
“I think you’ll see restaurants … without setting prices, because everything will be at market price.”
Bag of onions once $ 15, now $ 45
Abdulkadir decided to start raising prices at the Safia restaurant in an attempt to cover costs. Cutting ingredients and losing quality is simply not an option, he said.
They are also looking as far as Montreal and Toronto to find more affordable supplies.
So far, customers have had an understanding, but some regular visitors who have seen three times a month now drop by only once a month, he said.
The fact that this is a family restaurant means that they can rely on each other and keep labor costs lower.
Ahmed Abdulkadir mixes rice at a restaurant in Sofia. He said a 5-kilogram bag of rice, which used to cost $ 35, now costs him about $ 45. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
However, they cannot change their prices, and when a bag of onions that used to cost $ 15 is now around $ 45, Abdulkadir is looking for a lasting solution.
“We have to find ways to win because we are not [a] charity, “he said, adding that provincial and federal governments must do something to support small businesses.
“It will hurt everyone if you don’t come up with a sustainable solution to fight inflation.”
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