GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A survey done by the National Restaurant Association this summer reveals the struggles for thousands of business owners across the country.
This summer has been a busy one at Mitten Brewing Company, but even though customer traffic is close to pre-pandemic levels, there' are still struggles behind the scenes.
Co-Owner Chris Andrus says the hardest part of the pandemic is here for the restaurant industry. While restaurants have been open without restrictions for about a year, business owners are facing rising costs because of inflation.
"While sales have returned to near normal, as far as historical levels, every single cost has gone up, in some cases doubled (and) tripled," he says.
According to the NRA survey, 91 percent of restaurant owners in Michigan say their operating costs are up, and 90 percent say their profits are down. Andrus says the cost of food and beer has been rising for a long time now, as well as the transportation of it.
"For instance, beer, our beer costs have gone up because the materials, but also the cleaning chemicals we use to clean the tanks, to clean the tap lines, all that kind of stuff, stuff that the customer doesn't see or isn't familiar with that goes up to and all that affects the price of our products," he says.
67 percent of operators report higher utility costs, and 57 percent say their occupancy costs are up too. And in terms of staffing, nearly three quarters of owners surveyed say they don't have enough people to support demand.
"Everyone I know that owns a restaurant has multiple job postings out and either is unable to fill them has interviews, or no one shows up, so there's plenty of struggles still ahead of us," Andrus says.
And it seems like the situation isn't getting better for many restaurant owners. 42 percent report conditions are worse for their business than it was three months ago.
"Our challenges are harder to see. They're much more behind the scenes, and they're not as easy for guests to understand, I guess," Andrus says.
That's why he's urging customers to just be patient and recognize why prices are a little higher or service is a little slower.
"None of us are making more money because of raising prices. We're doing that just to stem the tide of the costs that are being foisted upon us," Andrus says.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.