Following a devastating pandemic, businesses have not yet fully recovered and they are still undergoing many issues, such as inflation, which leave businesses suffering with debt and less profit. According to Forbes, the pricing of groceries has risen to 11.4% from August 2021 to August 2022, and because of this, restaurants around the United States face issues having to raise their prices on food. They must markup pricing on food in order for their business to survive. An example of this would be some restaurants in New York, especially pizza restaurants. According to the New York Post, New York’s $1 slice is now getting raised up to $2 a slice due to the 20% increase for the cost of cheese.

To see the effects of inflation on a family owned pizza restaurant, I went to Ridgewood to interview some of the staff at Renato’s and talk about their business before and after inflation had hit.  Renato’s has been in town for over 60 years, and they are known for making some good quality pizza, so I asked them how the business has changed over the last few years as a result of inflation.

“The price of goods went up a lot. And the worst part is, we can’t get any help [with staffing],” the manager said. 

“I was forced to raise prices once already this year. And I’m in the process of doing it again, because my prices for production are going up so I have to pass that cost to customers. But like I say, other than that, the business is still fine. Thank you. The customers are still loyal. We have a great following. So we are lucky.”

A lot of places have been short staffed as of lately. Turvino’s –another pizza restaurant located in Glen Rock– was so short staffed that I couldn’t get an interview with them.

Not only has Renato’s prices gone up to $2 a slice, but their rate of production has gotten significantly slower since before COVID. Still, with the problems going on economically, Renato’s is doing quite well for itself, keeping their establishment in Ridgewood and keeping customers happy.