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By Jaryn Vecchio

Food Costs

P.A. restaurants forced to raise prices to survive

Dec 16, 2021 | 2:02 PM

There’s a good chance Prince Albert residents will need to pay a bit more for meals at restaurants, bars, and cafés moving forward.

This comes as the overall cost for food continues to increase with the Canada Food Price Report, released last week, suggesting they could jump by as much as seven per cent next year.

Antony Yannacoulias, the owner of Venice House in PA, told paNOW this isn’t a new issue as over the past year they’ve had to pay around $1,000 more a week for the same items they bought in 2020.

The only way to fight back is to raise prices.

“It’s not as if we’re like seeing a greater return on it, it’s just to cover the increase in price,” said Yannacoulias.

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He doesn’t know how much their costs could rise to next year, adding any increase will cause problems.

The Princess Café in P.A. is in the same boat as Venice House.

Manager Selwyn Halcro noted they’re planning to raise the average cost per meal by around $1. While being an overall low number, he understands it will start to add up for customers over time.

Halcro is hoping they understand this isn’t something they want to do but need to do.

“If they go to buy groceries in the store all they have to do is look at the prices they’re paying.”

He adds he has a loyal cliental so he’s not expecting a huge dip in customers, though others may not be as fortunate.

Also, the Star House Family Restaurant has already had to raise its prices. While they did not confirm by how much, they did note they are being heavily impacted by the rising costs.

Meanwhile, restaurants aren’t the only ones dreading the increasing costs of food.

The P.A. Food Bank will also have to pay more for their items as they try to ensure they help everyone who reaches out.

There’s a high possibility more people will also be looking to get food hampers.

Kim Scruby, executive director of the P.A. Food Bank, believes there’s a chance they could be handing out around 20 per cent more food hampers.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they would hand out around 1,100 hampers a month which supported around 3,300 people. Over the past year and a half, monthly hamper numbers have gone up and down, coinciding with supports from the federal and provincial governments.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow