CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois residents and those involved in the restaurant industry at McCormick Place had the opportunity to experience the challenges faced by vendors and restaurateurs in keeping their businesses afloat.
There was a strong sweet blend of coffee from Back of the Yards Coffee as they did demos with Synesso at the National Restaurant Association Show.
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The local café, like so many businesses in food and drink, is at the mercy of global markets.
“The prices have significantly increased. For example, a certain type of coffee bean that used to cost $3 per pound is now priced close to $8 or $9 per pound,” stated Carlos Hernandez, Head of Culinary Operations at Back of the Yards Coffee.
Hernandez says they try to balance their growing costs and pay a living wage to employees.
“The inflationary impact is evident across the board. The costs of food, meat, and groceries have all risen,” mentioned Temitope Davies, Managing Director of Abitem Innovation.
Davies has a catering business featuring Nigerian cuisine out of a commercial kitchen, but the dream is to have her own place.
“When you own the place, you can design it the way you want,” Davies said. “Have to put it on hold until it gets better.”
Jonathan Maze, the editor in chief of Restaurant Business Magazine, says in addition to costs, this is a business dependent on patrons.
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“It is the way of the world. If they don’t have money, they can’t eat out, so ultimately, it really is about the state of the economy,” Maze said.
Phil Higgins is the fourth generation of the family business Club Lucky.
He says they are grateful for loyal customers as they try to be as efficient as possible.
“Anything that’s neglected just compiles and gives you a disadvantage. We are honestly looking at everything across the board to make the customer experience the best possible,” Higgins said.
As the show closes, attendees will go back to their cities and communities with hopefully some ideas to better serve you, the customer, and keep their businesses going.
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