According to the Bureau of Statistics, the cost to guests dining in full-service restaurants was 2.2 percent higher than the year prior. The increases in cost of meats (beef and veal in particular), fish, eggs, and produce were 10.7 percent higher than in 2013. The founder of TheRestaurantExpert.com, David Scott Peters, refers to the factors that threaten food costs as ‘locusts,’ expressing that “it’s all kinds of things completely out of an operator’s control. I tell operators they always have to prepare, because every quarter there’s something.”

Because food costs have been at a steady high and expected to increase in the new year, it is crucial for operators to take a good look at how they are managing their expenses. It is recommended to implement methods of tracking food waste and create a risk management system. Although a price hike is usually what comes hand in hand with rising food costs, Robert Maynard, co-founder and CEO of Toast Café, urges operators to use this tactic as a last resort and to try and negotiate with suppliers first, “If your food is going up 1 percent, you really should try to find that 1 percent somewhere else…there are other ways to fight against the rising prices.”

Some suppliers will offer reduced-price items acquired on behalf of chain restaurants which can be incredibly beneficial for independent operators. Once operators gain a good understanding of their food costs they are better prepared to deal with supply chain fluctuations. To read more about ways to manage rising food prices and food costs, click here