Local restaurant owner says he had to increase prices due to inflation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Matthew Rogers one of the owners of 800 Degrees Pizza located on Lima Road in Fort Wayne. Like so many restaurant owners, lately, Rogers has been paying more for the restaurant’s goods because of inflation.

“One of our biggest commodities is flour,” Rogers said. “Our flour prices are up 65% over this time last year.”

Rogers says they used to pay around $30 for a bag of flour. But now, it can cost up to $55.

With the cost of ingredients increasing for his restaurant, Rogers had to make a change to the menu for the first time in five years, a move he says wasn’t easy.

“This year was the first year we went ‘okay we have to make a price increase’, it was just simple math and simple numbers,” Rogers said.

Patrick Tamm, President and CEO of the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association, says many restaurant owners across the state are facing the same challenges.

“Inflation’s real,” Tamm said. “It’s squeezing people hard. It’s squeezing households incredibly hard.”

Tamm and Rogers say, though, this time of year is the best for restaurants across the country, because travelers and holiday shoppers are out and about.

“This coming Wednesday will be as busy as any of our normal Fridays for sure,” Rogers said.

Rogers says inflation can impact everything from ingredients to packaging costs. He says price increases have put a halt on thoughts of expansion for his restaurant.

“We do have aspirations to have more restaurants and do more of these types of restaurants, but to pay for it now when it’s not ready to be used somewhere else just didn’t make sense,” Rogers said.

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