Owens feels she's handling the increase in costs as best she can, though she is having to increase menu prices. Owens says Java Jacks has a loyal customer base and she's been committed to keeping menu prices affordable, including keeping some meals at $10. She regularly checks prices between three suppliers and switches between them, depending on which one has the lowest costs. But the biggest stressor for her right now is finding and keeping staff. She's been short-staffed for months at a time. Rents have increased in this rural area. She says she's had to help employees find places to live and she's even put them up temporarily in a motel. Transportation is another problem: some workers don't have cars or are squeezed too much by current gas prices. "We have about five employees right now that we carpool to work," she says. Owens has had to take shifts in the kitchen, putting off her front-of-house duties and paperwork to her evenings and days off.
WinstonNPR reports on Owens, who is handling rising costs at a cafe and having to increase menu prices. Owens feels she's managing the increases as best she can.
AsherOwens says the cafe Java Jacks has a loyal customer base. She's trying to keep menu prices affordable, including keeping some meals at ten dollars.
WinstonWhat's putting pressure on those menu prices?
AsherNPR reports coffee prices for Owens are up over thirty percent since twenty twenty-two. Owens says the cafe's electricity bill was normally four hundred fifty or five hundred dollars a month; now it's over one thousand dollars a month.
WinstonSo it's not just the coffee. What is she changing in her purchasing to keep meals affordable?
AsherOwens says she now buys milk and juice at Walmart early in the morning rather than from a supplier. She also compares three suppliers regularly and switches depending on which has the lowest costs.
WinstonShe's changing where she buys things, not keeping the entire menu unchanged. But NPR says finding and keeping staff is her biggest stressor.
AsherOwens has another coffee spot in Warsaw, and both locations have been short-staffed for months at a time. Rents have risen in the rural area, where median income is around fifty thousand dollars a year.
WinstonSo the staffing problem also involves having somewhere to live. Owens says she's helped employees find places to live and even put them up temporarily in a motel.
AsherGetting to work is another problem. Some workers don't have cars or are squeezed too much by current gas prices. Owens says about five employees are carpooled to work.
WinstonAnd where does that leave Owens's own workday?
AsherNPR reports Owens has had to take shifts in the kitchen. Her customer-facing duties and paperwork aren't going away; they're being pushed into her evenings and days off.
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