With food and gas prices on the rise, Charleston chefs adjust prices, operations | News

Fresh off the holiday weekend, Anthony Gaudio brought his Drunk Tony’s food truck to Johns Island for a July 5 pop-up at Low Tide Brewery.

The following two nights, Gaudio’s truck, serving elevated Italian eats, visited Mount Pleasant and West Ashley before concluding his five-event week back on Johns Island at Low Tide.

It’s a well-thought-out route meant to limit the number of miles Gaudio puts on the truck he renovated himself given the recent rise in gas prices impacting South Carolina and the nation. Gas prices have nearly doubled since this time last year — around the time when Gaudio launched his truck — meaning he’s now pumping in about $140 every seven to 10 days.

“We’ve had to get a little creative,” Gaudio said. “Rather than really letting that affect our prices, we’ve kind of tightened up our radius that we go.”

And those in the crowded food truck market aren’t alone. Restaurant chefs and owners are feeling the pricing pressure, too, and it’s not just gas they’re worried about.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Consumer Price Index, a measure of economywide inflation, increased in 10 food categories from April to May. Looking at the 2022 forecast as a whole, the numbers are staggering.

Fish and seafood prices are expected to increase by nearly 10 percent in 2022. Experts are anticipating a 13 to 14 percent rise in poultry prices by the end of this year, while the price of eggs is expected to grow by 20 percent. And don’t forget about fats like butter and olive oil that chefs use daily — prices for those could see a 15 percent year-over-year increase.

This shift is already impacting the industry as restaurant, food truck and pop-up chefs strive to satisfy customers while still turning a profit.

Data dive

Charleston diners are accustomed to paying a certain amount for meals at local restaurants and food trucks.

That price point is changing.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Basic Projects hospitality firm added a 3 percent processing fee to bills at its restaurants Basic Kitchen and Post House, a move co-owner Ben Towill said allowed them to offer health insurance and paid time off to all full-time hourly employees. It’s an extra charge diners might have started to notice at other local restaurants, including Butcher & Bee, where owner Michael Shemtov added a 2 percent surcharge to customer’s bills in order to enhance employee health insurance packages and offer maternity/paternity leave. 

Aside from the processing fee, Basic Projects had not made adjustments to menu prices before this spring, when it took a detailed look at how rising food costs were impacting the business. The timing coincided with the opening of its third restaurant, Sullivan’s Fish Camp; according to Towill, they looked at every item used across the board.

“We didn’t want to make a decision with increases without real data,” Towill said. “Once you start changing prices, you really have to be pretty confident that you made that change based on information.”

The data told a somber story that surely resonates with other members of the industry. The price of gloves was up 29 percent from pre-pandemic levels, and they discovered that produce like kale (30 percent), avocados (43 percent) and limes (60 percent) were far more expensive than they were two years ago. Fish was up more than 30 percent — daunting for restaurateurs who were preparing to open a seafood-focused restaurant.

After accessing the data, the Towills adjusted their prices at Basic Kitchen and Post House. Those changes were reflected on the opening menu at Sullivan’s Fish Camp when it debuted May 17.

While they won’t change their commitment to sourcing high-quality, local ingredients, Sullivan’s Fish Camp executive chef Davis Hood has been working to get the most out of his ingredients, a price-conscious effort that fits in with his goal of serving sustainable seafood. One dish that epitomizes this approach is the Sullivan’s Island gumbo that features Tarvin Seafood shrimp, clams, okra, lobster broth, dayboat fish and Anson Mills’ Charleston Gold Rice. The West African-style gumbo’s gluten-free base is made using chicken bones, lobster shells, shrimp shells, fennel, celery, palm oil and Bradford Family Farm okra, which replaces a roux as the stew’s thickening agent.

“The idea is to be efficient with some of the dishes that we have,” Towill said. “There’s not a lot of room for error nowadays.”

Towill has a goal of keeping the pricing at each of the three restaurants accessible, something increasingly difficult as the costs of goods and labor continue to climb. The firm will perform a similar data dive in the second half of 2022, Towill said. 

Staying nimble

Setrini Sison, owner of two stalls in downtown Charleston’s Port of Call Food + Brew Hall, is constantly tweaking his menu as prices fluctuate. Lately, chicken thigh prices have been through the roof, and the wait time for the noodles he has always purchased from H&L Asian Market on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston recently reached one month.

“We try to accommodate by switching to whatever they have more available,” Sison said.

At King Street Italian restaurant Indaco, executive chef Mark Bolchoz has an advantage given the cost of ingredients needed to make pastas and pizzas is relatively low. Other menu items, like Indaco’s signature steak, tell a different story.

The ribeye Bolchoz has classically served has been more expensive and harder to come by, meaning he has been testing out new options. Just this year, the chef has rolled through five to six different cuts of beef.

“There’s seasonal price fluctuations every year, but we’re seeing beef at a high right now, which is not normal for this time of year,” Bolchoz said. “You have to be on your toes.”

Shortage-driven price increases for olive oil, salt and pepper are also causing problems, according to Bolchoz. When the price of an 8-ounce piece of chicken or salmon increases, he can change the price of the dish accordingly. But with essentials that are used daily — often without tracking usage — it’s hard to know how a change in the cost of goods should impact a customer’s bill.

“I think a steady increase on those has been working all year,” Bolchoz said. “A lot of it is really just trying to keep the business profitable and sustainable.”

Dell’z (formerly DellzVille) owner Michael Bonds has been tracking the rising cost of rice, changing his menu accordingly when the organic rice he usually purchases from the US Foods Chef’Store is sold out. It’s not just food, either. He has watched the price of gloves rise, while a 150-pack of sauce cups costs an extra $10 — a significant change for a restaurant with a large takeout footprint. 

“It’s really surreal to see all these things change so dramatically,” Bonds said. “Our main things we use (are) organic rice and beans. It’s forcing you to try different things and having you not have anything set in stone on the menu.”

Bonds now charges $1.50 for extra sauce, a small addition but one he wishes he didn’t have to hand off to the customer. Dell’z diners have been understanding, Bonds said, but he can see their disappointment when he informs them of the surcharge or reveals he is unable to serve a Dell’z favorite, like the Beach Bum wrap, a combination of wild-caught shrimp, organic rice, black beans, tomatoes, mango salsa, spicy Dell’z “ranchilada” and mixed greens.

“It throws people off a little bit,” Bonds said. “You can see their facial reaction.”

Price perceptions

Courtney and Nicole Tomer, owners of a food truck called Co-Hog that serves stuffed quahogs, clam fritters, shrimp rolls and clam chowder, have watched prices for clams and other specialty items fluctuate since they launched their small business as a pop-up in 2021.

“Everything in general has gone up,” Courtney Tomer said. “Duke’s Mayonnaise is ridiculous.”

Like Bonds, the truck owners are dealing with price increases for paper goods and other everyday items while managing the cost of fuel. Along with the fuel they need to drive the truck, the Tomers must fill a generator that powers the truck’s kitchen equipment for the duration of each pop-up. 

Members of the food truck community usually don’t have access to food deliveries like a traditional restaurant, they said, meaning most operators drive around the Charleston area to pick up ingredients from local farmers and purveyors. 

More miles on the road means more gas in the tank. 

As a result, the Tomers have had to increase prices on certain menu items, constantly tracking food costs so they can adjust accordingly. They have so far avoided any major pricing changes, hesitating because of the misguided perception that food from a truck should be less expensive than what is served in a restaurant. Like Gaudio, they don’t want to price themselves out of the market.

Right now, however, the market price for food at restaurants and food trucks is a moving target given the underlying issues impacting the sector.