Syracuse, N.Y. — Last year, Johnny Angel’s in Skaneateles had to change its popular Thursday night burger special.
The half-pound Angus beef burgers — self-serve topping bar included — had been $3, but due to increased costs, owner Bill Lynn had to raise the price to $5.
This spring, amid temporary shutdowns of beef processing plants due to the coronavirus pandemic, the price increases were too great. The restaurant temporarily suspended the Thursday night promo. The self-serve topping bar has also been removed in favor of pre-packed portions of lettuce, tomato, onion and other toppings.
Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the nationwide impact. The price of meat has increased more than 16% from June 2019 to June 2020. Of all meats, the price of ground beef increased the most — more than 26% year-over-year.
Of all the foods listed in the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, ground beef had the largest jump in price from 2019 to now.
Lynn said his cost increases were even higher. His beef costs jumped from under $3 a pound to around $7 a pound.
“We can’t have another price increase,“ he said.
The Power Play burger at Ale N Angus Pub in Syracuse.Stephen D. Cannerelli
Another temporary casualty: One of Central New York’s most celebrated burgers.
The Power Play burger, with its combination of a half-pound patty topped with sliced prime rib, has won numerous awards for Ale ‘N’ Angus Pub. But owner Randy Beach said it got to the point where the prime rib that topped each burger got too expensive to maintain the status quo.
Beach considered raising the price—$14, side included—or scrapping both it and his prime rib cheesesteak sandwich off the menu.
“It would be pretty bad if Ale & Angus stops selling burgers,” Beach said.
Ultimately, in early June, Beach decided to reformulate the burger using a less-expensive cut of roast beef. He dubbed it the Penalty Box Burger.
The price of prime rib was steadily increasing. At first, Beach absorbed the higher cost. But eventually the price of prime rib reached upwards of $12 to $13 per pound — more than double it was before — and he decided they needed to change.
While Beach, who owns the downtown Syracuse pub along with his son, Matt, has been forced to ride the roller coaster of beef prices, he’s been lucky that his ground beef prices have largely stayed level.
He locked in a set price with his supplier and said that while the price he paid did creep up a little bit, it was nothing compared to the extra $5 to $7 per 10-pound case he would have spent otherwise.
“That’s a substantial hit to us,” Beach said.
Owner Tom Tiffany in the take-out "command center" -- usually the main dining room -- at the Scotch N Sirloin, next to ShoppingTown Mall in DeWitt. The restaurant, which had been open for takeout only, has reopened to dine-in customers. Don Cazentre
Tom Tiffany, owner of the Scotch ‘N Sirloin steakhouse in DeWitt, also had the foresight to stock up on beef as soon as he knew he’d be transitioning the steakhouse to a curbside operation right at the onset of the pandemic.
But that supply only lasted so long. He’s been consistently ordering beef all while watching the prices steadily go up. Only recently did the cost of middle primal cuts—your ribeyes, strip steaks, filet mignons and other premium cuts—begin to drop.
But the price of ground beef hasn’t.
“Ground beef went ballistic around five to seven weeks ago,” Tiffany said. In May, nearly 20% of Wendy’s restaurants in the US were running out of burgers due to ground beef shortages.
Scotch & Sirloin does have a burger on its menu, but that’s actually one item that’s held steady this whole time. That’s because Tiffany sources his ground beef from Gridley’s Cold Spring Farm in Fayetteville. Not impacted by the coronavirus outbreaks that wrecked havoc at large Midwestern meat processors, the price he’s paid for the local ground beef has remained the same.
With takeout now accounting for the majority of the steakhouse’s businesses, Tiffany is seeing a boost in burger sales, as customers looking for a weeknight dinner are increasingly opting for the lower-priced burger. The half-pound grass-fed burger is $15.50.
“If this situation doesn’t make you do more local, you’re not paying attention,” Tiffany said.
Fortunately, help may soon be on the horizon. Beef wholesale prices have begun to revert back to the historical average, as cattle slaughter, which by May had dropped 35% over last year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, has returned to near normal levels.
On Tuesday, Beach got his first delivery of prime rib roasts since June. It was $7 a pound. It was still more than he paid before the pandemic, but affordable enough that the Power Play burger should be back on the menu soon.
Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and all things gastronomic across Central New York. Contact him by email at jpucci@syracuse.com.
The Link LonkJuly 23, 2020 at 05:24AM
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High beef prices mean tough changes for CNY burger joints - syracuse.com
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