As gas prices rise, food costs follow
Restaurateurs are paying more for deliveries as experts predict $1.60 a litre by April
Vancouver restaurateurs are among many in the region with their eyes fixed on fuel prices as they weigh how to react to the high cost at the pumps.
The big question on the minds of pizzeria owners like Kenan Gov and Franco Bastone is whether they’ll need to raise prices to cover the rising costs of deliveries. Meanwhile, car-share companies say their services are a great way for residents to take refuge from the high fuel costs.
Bastone, one of the owners of Nat’s New York Pizzeria, said the increased gas prices mean he needs to pay more to cover the fuel his drivers burn to get pies out to patrons. Those cost increases come after already having faced rising food prices for the last year-and-ahalf or so, he said.
“We never lighten up on the ingredients, but down the road we might have to put some prices up,” Bastone said. “We’re scraping a little more than we should be. People walk into a busy restaurant (and think), Oh, these people are makin’ money,’ but they don’t see what goes out the back door.”
Bastone said he’s just hoping the prices will stabilize or go down in the summer.
Gov, the owner of Roman’s Pizza, said he’s already paying more for the deliveries he relies on for ingredients
to make his pizzas, but like Bastone he’s waiting to see what happens at the gas pumps before deciding whether to put up prices.
“I’m waiting to see if it’s temporary or just for a week or something. But if it’s going to be a permanent thing, of course. Not only me — everyone will be (raising prices),” Gov said. “I’m shocked already and we’re still not in summer.”
Gas prices in the region are approaching record highs and some experts predict they could press past $1.60 per litre by April. They’re the highest fuel costs in North America.
Tai Silvey, director of Evo Car Share, said rising rates can be something of an advantage to Evo members given that they pay an all-in rate to drive the company’s shared cars.
Those high gas prices do cut into Evo’s margin, but its fleet of fuel-efficient hybrids help keep costs under control, he said. Asked whether Evo would need to raise its costs to customers were prices to reach and remain at the $1.60 point, Silvey said, “absolutely not.”
“We’re focused on making sure that Vancouverites and British Columbians have an affordable and environmental option to get around town,” he said. Many Evo members are “intermodal” and, for example, walk to SkyTrain, ride into town, then grab a shared car. Others are “multimodal” and use both their own car as well as a shared car when it makes more sense, he said.
“Using car sharing does allow you to free up your reliance on your privately owned vehicle, which can certainly help save costs,” Silvey said.
Evo’s rates start at $0.41 per minute. Car2go is changing its pricing model, but its rates now start at $0.32 per minute (a bargain compared with the $0.41 per minute the company charges in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal), and Modo uses a different type of fee structure.