Restaurant Owners, how is the business going lately? I’m troubled with rising costs and shirking margins, what about you guys ?
Restaurant Owners, how is the business going lately? I’m troubled with rising costs and shirking margins, what about you guys ?
Bar/Restaurant here. It’s sink or swim. I’m either slammed busy, or it’s crickets. Had to 86 my GM due to cost cutting, which added about 20 hours extra to my week. Upping prices as needed. (What the fuck with beef prices?) Trying to staff for the busy shifts and mitigate the shitty ones. Closing the kitchen a bit earlier, as they are expensive. Hell, I’ve worked the dishpit to save some dough! Just keep fighting!
Beef prices depend on a lot of factors, but customers and farmers are getting the short end of the stick.
In many parts of the US and Canada, there has been a multi year long drought that has impacted feed prices. 2021 was especially bad for huge areas, and it caused a lot of ranchers to sell off large portions of their herd. This has now caused a reduced supply with the same(or more) amount of demand. This has caused cattle prices to rise at auctions, but it’s still not anywhere close to explaining prices per cut by the sellers.
In Australia, some ranchers are considering shooting their cattle in the pastures because the feedlots and butchers are full, and they can’t afford to feed them. Cattle prices are tanking right now down there. They will be experiencing the same price swing in a year or two.
Other factors include inflation, fuel prices, and interest rates. And greed.
People still want to eat beef, and the suppliers (meat packers and grocery stores) know this. The price will stay high while people continue to pay for it. Try connecting with a local rancher and buying beef from them. 90% of the time, it is much cheaper per cut.
You missed the most important part. Over 70 percent of all beef in the USA is processed by one company. Jbl ( a Brazilian) company. They are squeezing the cattle farmers on price and then fucking the consumers on the back end. Why our government allows monopolies in food is beyond me… oh wait, no it isn’t. Can we all say politicians are being bought!