The rise in costs of goods has forced restaurants to do something they don’t want to do: add a small surcharge to the final bill.
“Unfortunately, it’s something that our restaurant has had to impose on the customers,” Nadine Martinez-Daskalos, owner of El Patron restaurant told KRQE.
The rising costs of food and fuel are to blame. “A 3% surcharge across the board… so that we wouldn’t have to increase menu prices across the board,” said Martinez-Daskalos.
The New Mexico Restaurant Association said that pales in comparison to food costs. According to the association, on average, menu prices are up 6% in New Mexico in the last six months. “It’s difficult for restaurants facing 17%, wholesale food cost increases and significantly increased wages, to keep up with menu price increases,” Carol Wight, the CEO of Restaurant Association said.
New Mexico restaurants aren’t the only ones having to add a surcharge. “The National Restaurant Association is reporting that 26% of restaurants are converting to this inflation surcharge,” Wight told KRQE.
Martinez-Daskalos said another reason for the surcharge is to take care of their own employees. “Our employees are feeling it to going out and buying gas and that kind of stuff,” she said. “So it allows us to keep them happy, keep them employed.”
The restaurant says they hope the economy stabilizes soon so they can drop the surcharge. “It’s so that we don’t have to change menu prices across the board either, you know, so we’re hoping it’s just temporary,” said Martinez-Daskalos.
